Fear of the Beast Within
by M-PBaseUnleashed
Summary: Gaara has been neglecting his personal life after being made Kazekage. But when he saves shy girl Sierra, will he be digging himself a hole bigger than he expected? If so, what has he gotten himself into? Second fanfic. R&R! No flames please! Thanks.
1. No trust for the Kazekage

"Gaara, look, you don't have to kill him. I mean, yes he bumped into you and yelled at you for getting in his way, but he doesn't know who you are!" Temari reasoned, trying to calm me down. I glared at her, and held up my hand.  
"Sand tomb!" The pathetic man yelled in pain as I buried him. But this was far too easy. I wanted him to suffer. So I brought him back up, but I toyed with him. I only broke a few limbs. I left him there on the ground. I walked away with my older brother and sister scampering after me. Having had such a terrible past, I'd grown to have no sense of regret when it came to killing those who opposed me. But I haven't really been able to do that, what with being Kazekage and all. And I'm still only fifteen. I have so much I wish to do, plus find a way of dealing with Sasuke before he killed more of my villigers. I looked up when I heard some cries of protest. A woman, her husband and a girl I recognised from when I was six were standing at the bottom of a building and staring up at the roof. The woman was crying into her husband's chest and the girl, I think her name was Jun, was screaming at somebody to let her go. Let who go? I looked up to the top of that building and felt my eyes widen. There was a girl being hung over the rail of the rooftop. By a shinobi! I growled. The family were still begging for the release of their daughter. The shinobi shrugged. You could practically see the scum smile under his mask.  
"If you insist." He laughed maniacally, and let go of her arm. The sand in my gourd reacted imidiately. It poured out of it's container and rushed to cushion her fall. It placed her on the ground behind me. I stood in front her and glared at the shinobi. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her fall into a sitting position, staring up at me in amazement. I looked forward to see that the shinobi had jumped from the building and was trying to throw multiple kunai at me, thinking that I couldn't evade twelve kunai at once. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. The sand that had cushioned the girl behind me instantly sheilded me. To cut it short, this fool thought he could use his speed past my defences. Ever since that battle I had with Lee at the Chunin Exams, I'd been working on the speed of my sand, meaning that my defences were near to absolute. The only person who had any hope of beating my speed was Naruto, and that is only when the Nine-Tailed Fox's spirit was active. But Naruto's a very close friend of mine, so that's not likely to happen. I made quick use of my sand sheild, which covered both me and the girl behind me, and shot sand missiles out of it. Just to save you the details, he died a quick and painless death. Same old blood curdling scream. I used to take pleasure in hearing those screams, but now, they either filled me with regret and remorse or gave me a gargantuan headache.

I turned to the girl behind me. I was quite surprised to see how outstandingly intruging she looked. She had fair skin, slightly tanned from the desert sun, and fair hair, with slightly straw coloured highlights in them. Her face was heart-shaped, and it held her large blue anime eyes and a normal, plump mouth, which she tended to chew. My facial expression remained impassive, but I mentally studied her. For future reference. I held out my hand, which she gratefully took. Her hand was so small that I could've crushed it if I squeezed hard enough. She smiled shyly at me. I nodded boredly at her thanks and turned to walk away, when I felt a hand grab my wrist. I turned back to see the girl clinging to me like it would save her life. I could feel her trembling as she looked at me with large, timid eyes. She bit her bottom lip nervously. She looked back to her family. Her parents nodded whilst her sister glared at me defiantly.  
"Lord Kazekage. Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry for being such a burden to you on one of your days off. Please forgive me for wasting your time and day." She bowed shamefully. I looked back to Temari and Kankuro, who gave small smiles. Temari came forward and tilted her head so that they were eye level.  
"What's your name?"  
"Sierra Maeko, miss."  
"Are you a ninja?"  
"Yes. In fact, I'm leaving very soon to participate in the Chunin Exams hosted by the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Temari seemed pleased by this answer and she grinned widely. My brother and I shot each other worried looks. Be both started.  
"Temari, you're not going to-"  
"How would you like me to put you through your paces before you go to the Exams? They are pretty intense. I mean they were no biggie for us cuz we had Gaara with us, but I'm pretty sure you don't have anybody in your team infused with a sand demon, right?" It was if a light had been switched on inside of Sierra's head. Her eyes sparkled and she nodded eargerly. I groaned inwardly. This wasn't going to turn out well.  
"No. Absolutely NOT!" A voice yelled behind them. I glance between Sierra and her sister. Sierra's face was immeadiately dulled by a trapped, clouded look.  
"Please Jun, don't do this." Sierra begged. She whimpered when Jun came and pushed her and Temari out of the way. She stood, glaring at me.  
"Where would you train her? At the same place you trained, with _him_?" When she said this she looked at me with eyes that longed to kill me. I gazed back at her evenly. After everything I have been through, it took a lot more than a glare from a childhood hater to frighten me. But still, my past still scars me. Looking at Jun just brought back bad memories.  
-_Flashback_-  
I ran as fast as I could through the dark streets. I found her house and knocked on her door. I had a bag of medicine that my uncle had given me. She opene the door. I held up the bag.  
"Sorry about earlier. It must've hurt. But I got you some medicine to heal you."  
"Get lost, you freak." She sneered at me before slamming the door in my face. I trembled and dropped the sand on the floor in front of her house, and walked away shamefully. That pain that I felt in my chest was there again. And it really hurt. I stopped next to a man wearing a black uniform leaning against a pillar. _Father. _He looked angry. I kept on walking.  
-_End of Flashback_-  
"Jun." I said, taking a step forward. She stood firm.  
"Do you actually think that I haven't forgotten what you are?" I narrowed my eyes at this.  
"Jun-" Her mother started but she cut her off.  
"Don't any of you remember that he's a monster? A murderer? If you think that I'm going to let my younger sister train when he's around and I'm not, then you obviously need a mental check!"  
"_ENOUGH!_" A voice screamed.


	2. Welcome to the Home of Lord Kazekage!

Everyone turned to me in shock. Jun's furious eyes were now massive with shock. I knew that my eyes were also large, but they were burning with fury and disgust. I felt like there was a whole group of butterflies inside of me, just waiting to bring my nerves back into check. But I wanted this. I wanted to become a ninja, to make myself different. Everybody in my clan had always thought of me as Jun's younger, weaker, less able sister. Just another pathetic little girl who knew nothing. Who never got anywhere due to her fear of, well, everything. I wanted to become a kunoichi, like Temari. And here Jun was trying to stop me. She hated it whenever I bypassed her. And she'd never wanted me to become a ninja in the first place. I stood firm on my feet.  
"I'm doing this, whether you like it, or not." I growled. My mother gasped. I've never really disobeyed Jun's wishes. Or anybody else's, for that matter.  
"Sierra, did you just say something to me?"  
"What if I did? Does being older than me, being stronger than me, make you superior to me? Well? Does it?" I was shouting now.  
"Why is it, that whenever I get the confidence to try to do something for myself, to stand on my own two feet, you have to come and lift me off the ground again? Why? You just can't stand the thought of being upsurped, can you? Well, guess what Jun. I know how to find my feet. By becoming a ninja. We're both taking part in the Exams. You might not want to become a chunin. But _I _do. So . . . You do things your way, and I'll do things mine." I turned away from her when I said this. I walked up to Temari.  
"Temari, if the offer still stands, then I would like you to train me." She nodded, smiled and took a step closer to me.  
"Sierra, if you don't feel like you can't stay at your home during the upcoming period of time, then you're always welcome to stay with us. We have plenty of room."  
"Really? Thank you. If you don't mind, I would quite like to stay with you. My relationship with my sister isn't the best one right now. Plus I know that she'll just lower my confidence and I won't be able to peform well." We both nodded and I ran home to pack.

* * *

I'd just finished packing a pouch which held all my ninja tools when Jun came into my room. She stared at my rucksack.  
"What're you doing?" I just looked at her stonily and placed my rucksack on my back. Standing up, I walked past her without uttering a word. She did try to stop. Oh, she tried to stop me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled, hard. I just tugged my wrist away from her and jumped out of my bedroom window, landing perfectly on my feet. Without a backward glance, I ran to the Sabuku's household, where I knew that Temari would be waiting for me.

* * *

"You're lucky that it was me that answered the door, because all Kankuro's been doing is going on about you and how 'smoking' you are." Temari informed me as soon she saw that it was me. I smiled as humbly as I could. Boys don't really notice people like me. She led me up a vast ash wood staircase. We reached the second floor and she opened a door at the very far end of the corridor, next to a large window which overlooked the front yard.  
"OK, it's pretty late so we can't really train, but I'll give you a tour of the house after you've unpacked. Then tomorrow we'll get up bright and early and then I'll put you through my training regime. Sound good?" I smiled and nodded. As soon as the door closed behind us, I gasped. The was a double bed next to a huge window. And I mean _huge. _If you openedit, you could easily hop out and sit on the little balcony. Only about two people would fit on it. Inside the room was a deep shade of burgundy, with a large teak wardrobe, drawer and dressing table assortion. There was also a metre wide ceiling to floor mirror next to the dressing table. There were black and red laced curtains in the windows. All in all, this room was stunning. I loved it. It was as though it was made for me.  
"Like it?" Temari asked with a proud smirk on her face.  
"I love it!" I enthused. I finished unpacking super fast. Temari laughed at my eagerness. She raced me down to the first floor. That was the floor where the bathroom, a small kitchen for snacks and the exercise rooms on the ground floor was the swimming pool with a side changing room, a large kitchen with a black granite bar-like table in the far corner of the room with five black stools surrounding it. There was also a larger dining room, I guess for when they have parties or host meetings.  
"OK, outside, there's a large field with fencing in the back. We'll meet up there tomorrow. Now all that's left to show you is, the living room." Temari said, pushing open two large mahogany doors. I gasped and gawped at the total awesomeness of this room. The floor was made of cherry wood, beautifully dark. It complimented the rosewood coloured walls. There were many large comfy looking black sofas. There was a traditional sectional couch which a very elegant looking lady was laying on. Then there was a futon which Kankuro was sitting on, with his left elbow on the left arm of the chair. Then there was a really gorgeous loveseat, which Gaara was sitting on, with one arm on the back of the chair. They stopped the conversation they were having and looked at us expectantly. Temari went over to sit next to Kankuro on the futon. He glared her while she stuck her tongue out at him. I just stood in the doorway, smiling shyly.  
"My name is Lady Kimiko. I am the gaurdian of the Sabuku family. Would you like to sit down?" She smiled warmly, although she made no effort to remove her long legs from her couch, which meant that I had to sit next to Gaara. I felt a rose blush tint my cheeks. That chair was pretty small, so naturally, I'd be forced to snuggle up with him, just so that I'd fit.  
"Sierra? Are you OK? You can sit down. Gaara won't hurt you." Temari assured me.  
"Maybe she wants to sit next to me." Kankuro suggested. Temari looked at him in annoyance.  
"Keep dreaming, you saddo! Sierra, sit down." She said. I noticed the sudden gleam in her eye. She did this on purpose! I walked quietly into the room, over to the lovely loveseat. Gaara hadn't said anything since I came in.  
"Lord Kazekage, is it alright that I sit here? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Make _him _feel uncomfortable? Just seeing him was sorta difficult. I have an issue with people I'm not entirely familier with, where I get nervous. I was surprised that my feet hadn't already ran me back up those flights of stairs to my room. I looked at him. He had a pretty distant look in his eye, like he hadn't even acknowledged that I was there. I don't know why that hurt so much, but it did.  
"You may sit here." I started and stared at him. My hair fell into my eyes, so I hurried to brush it away, only to be met with stunning cyan eyes. I nodded, mesmerised and sat next to him. I could feel my tinted cheeks deepen. His body heat was startling. And he smelt like almonds. I love the smell of almonds. They smell fresh. Plus, I love trees. I tried to shrink away, but I was forced to press myself against him. He didn't move his arm from the back of the chair. In fact, I felt something stroking my hair. It was a very light touch though, but it was there. Was Gaara, Lord Kazekage . . . stroking me? I felt quite strange now. It was pleasant, though. But I went to bed that night confused.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to sun filtering through the laced curtains. I smiled contently. Today I was going to train with Temari. Jun wasn't here to discourage me and I was happy. I quickly bathed and got dressed. I wanted to test my landing skills, so instead of walking down the stairs like a normal person, I jumped over the banister on the second floor. And landed perfectly on my feet in front of a stunned Kankuro. He gaped at me.  
"Did you just . . .?" He looked up as if expecting more girls to fall from the second floor. I put my finger to my lips and giggled. He shook his head good humorously at me.  
"Well, it's a good thing you jumped down here yourself. Temari just told me to go and get you. Come eat breakfast." He beckoned to me. When I didn't move, he came forward, took my hand and dragged me to the kitchen.  
"OK, she's here. Pay up." He demanded as soon as we entered. Temari shrugged and gave him one of her breakfast brownies. They had nuts and chocolate chips in them. Kankuro didn't let go of my hand though. It was then that I noticed Gaara was sitting at the bar, also eating breakfast brownies silently. By the way they smelt, they also had chocolate chips in them and _almonds._ I felt my mouth watering. Gaara looked up and saw me holding Kankuro's hand. A strange look passed over his face before his original distant look settled down again. Temari also peered at him, and a sad look took over her bright eyes. It took a moment to realise that Kankuro was shaking my arm.  
"What do you wanna eat? We've got a little bit of everything in these cupboards." I smiled.  
"I'll have a brownie too, then, please?"  
"The plate's next to Gaara. Although there are mainly almond brownies left. Temari must've scoffed all the good ones." He frowned at his elder sister, who glared back at him defiantly.  
"I need to keep my energy up. Sierra might be tougher than she looks. I hope she is, anyway. So don't even _try_ to sass me, Kankuro." Sensing a bigger argument, Gaara made himself look busy by studying his brownie. I quickly stood between them.  
"Guys, I love almond brownies. So let's not make a big deal out of nothing, 'K?" Everyone stopped and stared at me. I suddenly fet uncomfortable. Gaara was looking at me in shock with a brownie halfway into his mouth, Kankuro and Temari had mouths the size of a perfect cheerio.  
"What? Was it something I said?"  
"You like _almonds_? But they're so _hard_. How do you even eat them? You and Gaara have the weirdest taste in food. Y'know that?" Temari declared in disgust. I looked over at Gaara to see if he had taken offense to this but had a small smile on his face. He pushed the plate of gorgeous brownies forward. I grinned at him and sat down in the seat next to him, grateful for the opportunity to eat.  
"So-" I looked up, surprised. Was he talking to me? I saw him looking quite intently at me and marvelled once again at the absoloute beauty of his eyes. They were so bright.  
"Yes, Lord Kazekage?"  
"Call me Gaara." He said, waving his hand dismissively. I nodded and blushed. He continued.  
"Why did you leave your home?"  
"My elder sister, didn't see that I was strong. She thought of me as a weakling who couldn't fend for herslef, therefore making me inferior to her and all who were above her. We are both going to take the Chunin Exams, due to her failing the last time she participated. She got out in the first round. But, she always told me that, as my elder sister, she considered herself much wiser and powerful. My aim as a ninja is to become a jonin level kunoichi. Or at least a chunin level one. I want to prove not just to her, but everybody else, that I am strong. I know in my heart that I can do it. And I will. Or at least I'll try." I finished quietly. I had been looking out of the window as I'd said this, but now looking at him, I could see that Gaara was in deep thought. What was he thinking about? Was he actually concerned about me? I smiled inwardly. This, for some strange reason, brought some joy uknown even to me into my heart. He actually cared!  
"Sierra, let's go. If you want me to train, I need to see your skill at least."  
"Oh, of course. Coming!" I called getting up and running to the back door. I stopped, turned to face Gaara, who was still watching me, I bowed.  
"Thank you for talking to me, Gaara."


	3. The Training Session

sailorangelmoon1- I can't wait to read more!

Shadow-Ninja-Captain69= Awesome! Story! :D Please write more!

NaginiFay- This is pretty good so far.

The Kazekage of Suna- I was just browsing on through some stories, and saw this, and thought "Hmm, summary sounds good, nice title.." . . And wow! I really think this has some serious potential, and would like a second chapter... and FIRST!

Thanks for your comments and support!

* * *

I watched Sierra as she jogged out into our private training field. Why did I feel like I was forgetting something? I watched through the window as Temari raced Sierra around our private training grounds. Training! I was meant to be training with Matsuri and Sari today! I mentally kicked myself. Temari was using the training field, and I highly doubt that Sierra would want to have complete strangers watch her train. I slowly pushed myself off of my chair and walked outside. I mentally kicked myself once again when I saw Matsuri and Sari running in through the gate. They stopped right in their tracks and stared at Temari and Sierra, who were now sparring. I paused in the doorway and watched as Sierra backflipped onto her hands, then swivelled her legs round in a windmill motion to totally evade all the kunai that Temari threw at her. Matsuri and Sari gawped at her, then glared at her oblivious back. I mentally smiled. It was pretty obvious that they were jealous. Why? I don't know. I started as I heard a loud crash behind me, causing all four girls to turn their attention to me. I shrugged my shoulders slightly and turned to see what was behind me, and sighed. Kankuro had all of his puppets with him, but had somehow he had tripped over his feet and was lying on his face on the ground. I walked over to him and picked him up. He wasn't wearing his cat head thing, so you could see his spiky beige hair. He smiled sheepishly at the girls, all of whom face palmed. I heard Temari mutter,  
"Such an idiot!" Under her breath, but I didn't turn around. He must have been trying to impress Sierra with his puppet mastery. I felt a sudden rush of annoyance at ths realisation and glared at his stupid face, then I relaxed when I heard Sierra laughing behind me at something that Temari had said. I almost smiled, but kept my straight face intact. Turning back to the females, I said in my normal stoic voice,  
"Matsuri, Sari, let's go." Turning on my heel, I walked back into the house. I heard them scurrying to catch up with me. They chatted quietly behind me, probably thinking that I couldn't hear them giggling about my height and how much deeper my voice had gotten and how 'awesome' I was to be Kazekage at such a young age. I sighed inwardly and paced forward at a slightly faster speed. They started and jogged after me. I led them to the Academy training field, where they took their appointed weapons, Matsuri with her rope javelin and Sari with her sai. I told them to spar against each other so that I could observe their fighting styles. They nodded and got to it staright away, grunting as they struggled to get a hold on the other. Of course, I prohibited Sari from ever actually touching Matsuri, due to her now receeding fear of weapons. I felt myself become bored as I watched them. They didn't have a particular battle style and their moves were predictable. I activated my third eye and watched Sierra spar with Temari. Well, she was currently running away from a gust of wind that Temari had thrown at her. I gasped mentally. She was actually _out_ running the wind. She jumped over our field's fence and ran. I could she her shape becoming larger in my eye. I deactivated my third eye, only to see Sierra dashing towards me, then straight past me, after Matsuri and Sari, who had gone running into the desert. Temari came to a halt beside me.  
"Gaara, what colour were Sierra's eyes? Please tell me if you saw them." Her voice was so urgent that I felt quite weak just thinking about what could have happened to cause my elder sister to speak like this.  
"No, I'm sorry." She let out a small whimper at this. I asked her why she was so concerned.  
"We were sparring, and then she just froze and her eyes flashed golden brown. Then when I blew one of my justus at her, she just turned and ran away. She jumped over our fence like a monkey and kept running. I thought she was going to you, but's she's gone after Matsuri and Sari. I think we should go after them." We nodded at each other and ran as fast as possible to the outskirts of the village, which led to a large oasis. That was where we saw Sierra disappearing into the trees. We jumped into the trees after her. We finally caught up with her, and stood on either side of her. She was poised in a very strange way, like a type of monkey. She was watching Matsuri very closely. Then she jumped. It happened so fast. I heard Matsuri scream and gasped when I saw the blood.

* * *

A kunai knife had gone straight through Sierra's left hand and it was bleeding very badly. The tip of the knife was just barely touching Matsuri's nose. Sari had collapsed onto her knees on the floor, staring at both Sierra and Matsuri in utter disbelief. I couldn't see Sierra's eyes, they were hidden by her bangs. I took note of the fact that although she was wheezing in agony, her hand remained firm and still. It wasn't trembling like normal people do. There was something about Sierra that was much more powerful than anybody and anything I had ever met. What I didn't understand was why this realisation gave me such a strong sense of foreboding.


	4. Sierra's Pain

I don't know how I did it. I don't even know how I knew. But I knew that Matsuri was in danger. I also knew that I was the only one fast enough to save her. I felt something bang inside of me, and I froze. Then, I turned on my heel and leaped over the fence, just as Temari sent one of her wind jutsus at me. I heard her calling my name and asking me where I was going, but I refused to stop. I muttered a mild profanity when I realised that Matsuri and Sari had run out of the village and into the desert. I ran right past Gaara, but couldn't contain a small blush as a look of utter astonishment washed over his face. Then I went after them. I found them in a clearing, clearly sparring against each other. I couldn't see or hear anything, but I sensed a presence and that was when I sprang from my spot. I stuck out my left hand just in time. I didn't realise that a kunai had gone straight through my hand until I heard Matsuri scream. I panted, but my hand stayed still. I could feel strength seeping into my now bloodied hand. I looked up to see that Matsuri was staring at me with eyes smaller than a coin. I shifted my arm so that that kunai point was now facing the trees above. Temari and Gaara both jumped down from a near-by tree. I gasped, startled. When had they gotten there? Gaara quickly pulled me away from Matsuri, but tenderly, so as not to shock my arm, as Temari quickly pulled Sari to her feet and sat Masturi down. Gaara walked me over to a tree and sat me down slowly on its trunk. He peered into my eyes, and I heard a small sigh of relief eminate from his lips. He murmed, "Blue." I looked at him, startled, when he smiled a small smile and pushed some hair out of my eyes. I could feel a blush starting, but I pushed it down at the last minute and asked in a rhaspy voice,  
"Matsuri, is she OK?" Temari came over to sit next to Gaara and peer deep into my eyes. I felt very uncomfortable at this stage! In fact, I almost couldn't stand it.  
"Stop staring at me!" They both gasped in shock. They were looking at me. They were looking at me the way everyone did. I hated that look. I trembled. That look.  
"Stop, stop it! Please! Stop it!" I screamed, getting up and running away. I reached the border of the village and dragged the kunai out of my hand, crying out in pain at the shock. I dropped the knife on the sand and ran in, tears puring down my face. I dashed to the home of the Sabukus' and banged on the door with both hands, causing an intense pain to run through my arm. Kankuro opened the door and I sped past him, completely ignoring him. Speeding up the two staircases, blinded by tears, I found the door to my room and collapsed on my bed, pulling my knees up to my chin and sobbing profusely into my chest. I cried out and sobbed even harder as pain seared through my entire arm. I screamed as I felt the pain rip through my whole body. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear footsteps running up the stairs. _One, two . . . no, three people. Why won't they leave me alone? _I shrieked in agony and doubled over. My ears were filled with the sound of my screaming and I shut my eyes. But I could still sense them coming into my room. My screams became louder. I was being ripped in half! Something warm wrapped itself around me, cradling me. I was still shrieking in agony. My yelling subisided, however, when someone else wrapped their arms around me and started singing so quietly into my ear that I could barely hear it.

_My sweet little monkey_  
_Whisper your own dreams_  
_Though things don't always_  
_Go as they seem_  
_Dream of your power_  
_And you will succed_  
_Protecter of us_  
_My little monkey_

I opened my eyes and peered up at the person who had subsided my pain. I gasped to realise that I was sitting in . . . Gaara's arms?!


	5. Enter: Deidara and Sasori

M-P: Hey guys. This is going to be the first of many chapters where it speaks from Sierra's point of view only, because Gaara has been kidnapped by the Akatski. Cuz, you know he's the jinchuriki of Shakuku an' all that.

* * *

I stopped writing. I couldn't focus. After Sierra had run away we had brought Matsuri to the border, and we left her with Sari promising to take her to the medical centre and sprang home. To see Sierra screaming in agony caused me to almost break down. Kankuro rushed to her side and held her in his arms, but that only caused her to yell louder. I felt my throat dry up. I had to do something. I'm the Kazekage, after all. So I stepped forward and pplaced my hand on my brother's shoulder. He understood and got up straight away. I didn't regularly hug people, but I tenderly cradled Sierra in my arms and sang. Yes, you read that right. I sang to Sierra a song that I had only heard once. But I don't recall who it was that I heard it coming from. I whispered it so quietly that she had to strain her ears to hear me. Saying what I could remember, I sang to her in a voice that was as alien to me as it was to her.

_My sweet little monkey_  
_Whisper your own dreams_  
_Though things don't always_  
_Go as they seem_  
_Dream of your power_  
_And you will succed_  
_Protecter of us_  
_My little monkey_

She had stared at me as if I was a completely different person, but there was that shine again. The one that had appeared when Temari asked her if she wanted to be trained by her. As soon as she had calmed down, though, I quickly made my way into my own room, changed into my Kazekage robes and fled to my office. That's when I first saw _him. _I don't know what he wanted, or his reason for appearing in my village at that time of night, but he was a stranger and if he was planning to hurt my people, he's got another thing coming.

* * *

This guy had been looking for me. He knew I was the jinchuriki of Shakuku and he wanted me. I, of course, wasn't going to be taken so easily. We battled for quite some time. He had the nerve and power to attack the whole village! I managed to cover the whole are with sand, but it wiped out my chakra. To add to that, he had distracted me enough to send one of his strange clay birds into my chakra sand ball. After that. Everything, went pitch black.

* * *

Sierra's P.O.V

I woke up with a start. Temari had forced me to sleep early today. I looked out of my window at the brown night sky. What? The sky was supposed to be black. And where were the stars? Then it hit me. The entire village was cloaked in sand! I wrapped myself in a midnight cloak and dashed outside. Only to see Gaara lying unconcious in his crumbling sand armour being carried away on a bird . . . made out of white clay?! I growled when I noticed the blonde guy who was wearing the sickest smirk I could have ever seen, riding on the clay bird. No time to think about that. I felt something close to rage bubbling up from the depths of within me, and, using one spare second to check that I had plenty of weapons, I dashed after them. I came to the border of our village and stopped abruptly. There had been some sort of avalanche. I smiled sadly when I heard Baki swearing. I gave him no more time than I gave to the stones blocking my path. Running as fast as I possibly could, I soared over the bloackage with ease. Ignoring the shouts of protests as several jonin tried to follow me, I sped after the still fresh footprints. When I say footprints, I mean two pairs of footprints- one set fresher than another- and then a trail, like a tail being dragged in the sand. At some point, I came across a body. Don't worry, the person was alive, and it was Kankuro. I bet he was poisoned, but he would definately live. At least, for the next few days. Not wanting him to die in the dessert, I threw a few smoke bombs several hundred metres into the air. That should bring somebody to his location. Then, making sure he could breathe, I continued my chase. Looking down only once, I was surprised to realise that I was running so fast that I wasn't making any tracks in the sand whatsoever. Oh well, if they wanted to catch up with me, they'd have to catch my scent.

After having followed them for quite some time, they came to the border of the land of rivers. I hid behind a tree when they came to a small cliff that had a sort of boulder inserted into it, with a seal tag, which blondie released with a satisfied, 'Hn'. I was just quick enough to enter their dark, weird hideout before the boulder came down. But I had a problem, there was nowhere to hide in this hideout.  
"You're late." A hologram of a man with spiky hair and a rippling pattern in his eyes scolded stoicly.  
"Yeah, sorry about that. Me and my man Sasori here got delayed. Turns out this jinchuriki is a lot tougher than we expected, even though he's just a kid." I was still looking for a place to hide when I realised that the three men had stopped talking.  
"You," holgram man asked, pointing at me with no expression on his slightly pixalated face, "who are you, and how did you enter here?"  
"Deidara, you fool! Why didn't you cover up out tracks properly?" The short one, Sasori spat out.  
"Well, if you hadn't noticed, I was the one who fought the jinchuriki. Besides, you're the one who can sense things with that stupid puppet tail of yours. And anyways, I didn't wanna keep you waiting." Blondie, I mean Deidara retorted. Having no patience for the argument that was forthcoming, I took a couple of steps forward and stood in between the two, who I believed were artists, judging by the whole clay and puppet thing.  
"Sh- she's so fast!" Deidara croaked. Glaring at them with feigned confidence that I never had, I said  
"Look, I don't know what you want with my village's Kazekage or what his being a jinchuriki has to do with anything, but I'm asking you to return him to us!" I let out a growl I didn't even know I was capable of making when they all laughed at me. 'They' being Blondie and Shorty. The holgram just chuckled once and then gave the orders.  
"Take her prisoner. You have an extra 24 hours because Kakazu just had some trouble. But at dawn tomorrow, from wherever you keep her, begin the jutsu. She might possess some kind of rare kekkai genkai or gift that could be useful to us. Try to find out what it is." Both grunted and nodded their understanding. Without any warning(like they would give one!) I was grabbed by the wrist and harshly blindfolded. They began to drag me through countless stone corridors and down an unimaginable number of cold, crumbling staircases. Unfortunatley for them, they didn't know that I used my sense of touch to find things. By running the stumbling heels of my feet on the ground, I memorised a path that I could use to get back to the top of this base if I escaped. No, _when_ I escaped. I'm the one saving the Kazekage, so I have to make sure that I don't need rescuing either.

* * *

After several minutes of walking blindfolded down a particularly steep staircase, we came to aabrupt halt. I couldn't help a smile spreading on my face when I noticed the strong smell of . . . almonds! Awesome! That meant that there were almond trees as well! Great for climbing! I blinked when the blindfold was taken off to reveal a somewhat blinding light compared to the hideout. Looking around me, I gasped and sank to my knees.  
"This place is so beautiful!" Deidara smirked proudly. It was actually quite an attractive smile, now that my rage has ended. Sasori grunted his agreement.  
"This, is our muse fall!" Deidara declared with a dramitic spread of his arms. I looked to Sasori for a further explaination, since Deidara was still basking in the glory of this place.  
"Our 'muse fall' is where we get our inspiration from. This place holds far too much beauty, even though it is underground. In fact, it is underwater, inside a waterfall close to this hideout. Here is also where we plan what type of attack we're going to make using our art. However, Deidara and I have totally different views on what 'art' is."  
"You got that right!" Deidara snorted, coming over to us and leaning on the trunk of an oak.  
"Hey, Sasori my man, why don't you take that thing off and let her see who you really are?" I froze when the thing that I thought was Sasori became limp and a slimmer person came out. It was then that I realised that the Sasori I had seen first, was a puppet! Taking a few steps back, I bumped into Deidara, then hid behind him. He laughed at me. Then he grinned at Sasori.  
"See Sasori? Nobody likes your art."  
"Shut up." He growled in reply. Stepping out beside Deidara, I grinned. Sasori looked like Gaara, with his tousled aurburn hair and fair skin. The only difference was that Sasori was more wooden with amber eyes, whereas Gaara had cyan eyes and had body heat.  
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Sasori asked, irritated. I laughed sheepishly.  
"Sorry, it's just . . . you resemble Gaara so much that it's uncanny. . . What do you want him for, anyway? He hasn't met you before, so you've no reason to want to harm him." Seeing that they weren't going to talk, I changed the subject.  
"So what's this I hear about your different views on art?" This got them started.  
"Art should be appreciated by all. This means that all generations should seee it, so it obviously has to last long. Like my everlasting puppets." Sasori stated.  
"Er, wrong! Art is an explosion that last for a second. Like my explosive clay." Deidara yelled, a look of growing annoyance on his face.  
"Stop it!" They both paused and stared at me, mouths slightly opened. Then Deidara squinted at me, and nudged Sasori.  
"People who are working together shouldn't fight. Otherwise there isn't any point in being in a team together anyway . . . what is it?"  
"I could've sworn your eyes were brown when we first met you. So why are they blue?" What?  
"My eyes are always blue . . ." I trailed off when they both shook their heads. Trying to bring the subject back to the previous topics, I asked them for some paper and something to colour in with. When I was finished, I asked them if they had anything to put it in.  
"This is what I think." I said, placing the now framed painting on the ground. It was a painting of a calm, tranquil village, next to another picture of an explosion in that same village, with people running away, next. In the sky, was a man. He had spiky orange hair with a strange rippling pattern in his violet eyes and he wore a black cloak with a crimson cloud. T_he Akatski cloak. _Looking back and forth between them, I saw realisation dawn on their faces, but I explained anyway. "I believe that art can demonstrate an explosion that lasts a lifetime. I think that yes, it is exciting to experience something that catches you in the moment, but I think that others should get a chance to experience it and cherish for their lives." Both looked thoughtful. Sasori peered at me, "Is that what you really believe? That two different arts can be one?" I nodded. They looked at each other again. Then Deidara slung an arm playfully around Sasori's shoulder and showed me his hands. I felt myself pale.  
"Deidara, your hand. It has a mouth on it!"  
"Yeah, it's a forbidden jutsu I stole from, my village." He admitted. Then Sasori showed me his elbow, which was made from . . . wood?!  
"I replaced my body with that of a puppet's. I only have my heart." He said, refusing to look me in the eye.  
"Why are you guys showing me this?" Sasori gave Deidara a look that told him to speak.  
"We've told you about our secrets. You can tell us what your's is."  
"But aren't those your orders? To find out what's so special about me, and, if it could be useful, tell your leader?" Both of them actually looked guilty.  
"If I tell you, will you give me Gaara? Or at least, let me see him?" Neither could look me in the eye.  
"We can't guarantee that we'll even be allowed to see him, let alone get you to see him." Sasori muttered. My spirits fell.  
"Well, you've let me get personal with you, even to go as far as discuss art with you, so it's only just that I tell you mine." They looked at me, startled. Taking a deep breath, I told them the secret I had kept to myself for thirteen years.  
"It's true that I possess a type of kekkai genkai, but I don't think anyone else in my clan has ever had it. In fact, I possess more than one, kekkai genkai. One of my girfts though . . . is that I can use all three of the most powerful dojutsu. The Byakugan, the Sharingan and the Rinnegan."

* * *

M-P: Bet none of ya were expecting that, were ya?! *cackles*. If you want to know more, read on. Try and figure out my mystery!


	6. Sierra's Kekkai Genkai

M-P: Just to remind you guys, this chapter will be in Sierra's point of view.

* * *

They gaped at me. Then Deidara, who paled at the mention of the Sharingan, growled.  
"How can you possess the three most powerful jutsu if they belong to three totally different clans?" He began to mold some clay with the mouth in his one remaining hand in frustration. I was expecting some kind of bird, because he seemed to like those, but it wasn't. It was a ball with three diffrent eye patterns, representing each dojutsu. Sasori and I stared as he crushed it with an exsaperated, "hn." Sitting in between him and Sasori, I turned my head to look at him, cascading Sasori in my long, unkempt, wavy fair hair. But he didn't complain. He just stroked it.  
"I hate the Sharingan!" Deidara yelled. I looked at him, startled.  
"Why not?"  
"Why not? It's because of the Sharingan that I'm here! Because that jerk didn't appreciate my art! If he had appreciated it, then I would've joined willingly!" He was shaking with such rage that Sasori stopped stroking my hair and peered at him with a slightly disturbed face. I took some of Deidara's loose hair and, with a brush that I always keep in my ninja tool pouch, I began brushing his hair. He looked at me as if I was mad, but didn't stop me.  
"There was a time when I had gone into an unexplainable emotional state. And a pain like no other had taken over me. Then Gaara, my friend, my Kazekage, and one of my teachers, held me in his arms and sang to me." Both men now had wide eyes, like little boys waiting to hear the end of a story. I didn't say anything for a while, just sat there, letting Sasori stroke my hair as I brushed through Deidara's. I began to hum. Then I began singing the song.

_My sweet little monkey_  
_Whisper your own dreams_  
_Though things don't always_  
_Go as they seem_  
_Dream of your power_  
_And you will succeed_  
_Protector of us_  
_My little monkey_

Both Sasori and Deidara looked at me.  
"Your voice is an art!" They declared simultaneously. I felt a proud blush creep up my face. The both cooed me in a very unmanly manner. Looking around, I saw that the beutiful bright waterfall had been tinted to a gorgeous rosy gold. Sitting back against the tree, I peered out at the water flowing recklessly above us. I couldn't contain a yawn. Sasori and Deidara shared a glance, before Sasori pushed my head onto Deidara's muscular lap. I tried my best to keep my eyes open, but it was difficult. I'd been running all day at a ridiculous, if not impossible speed. Before shutting my eyes, I murmured,  
"I haven't told you guys my two other keekai genkai's," they gasped. "I haven't told you because they could easily shorten your life span. The first one could easily be used as an advantage against this organisation, and I don't want to hurt either of you. Not now that I know you better. The final one is such a danger that to even begin to think about using it is impossible. It is very rare though, and it is highly unlikely that I will ever awaken it, so you're safe in that department." Then closing my eyes, I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	7. What do they think?

Deidara's P.O.V

I looked down at Sierra, who was resting in my lap. Using my only hand, I stroked her hair. She was a gorgeous girl, with hair longer than my own and large blue eyes. She was so pure. I can't believe that this innocent child could be so powerful. Her chakra levels are so high that she could be a jinchuriki. And those two other kekkai genkais . . . I don't know about Sasori, but I don't think I'll be able to say anything to Pein. This kid just gotten too personal. Plus, I would like to find out about those two other kekkai genkais. She must have been exaggerating a _little _bit, because she was so tired. I also want to find out what jutsu she used to trace us. If she's a sensory type ninja, then it would've been no problem, but the fact that she didn't put up a fight when we captured her means that she can't be a very experienced ninja. Maybe a genin? Hm. She seems really special. She could even prove useful. Maybe if I ask Pein nicely, he'll make her my subordinate. Never had one before. I squinted as a weak ray of sunlight got me in my right eye. Looking around, I noticed that Sasori was standing by the door that lead back into the base with an irritated expression on his face. I felt a sheepish smirk cross over my face. Gently as I could with only one arm, I pushed Sierra's head onto a thick patch of moss beside the tree and got up, stretching. Sort of. Kind of awkward stretching with one arm. Hn. Better get going. Sasori looks kind of steamed. If that's even possible for a puppet.

* * *

Sasori's P.O.V

Why was he taking so long? We're going to delay the sealing even further if he doesn't hurry up. I put on my most irriataed face and glared at him. He smirked at me and placed Sierra's head onto a thick moss-like pillow before getting up and stretching awkwardly with his singular arm. I almost gagged when the hand in his mouth yawned too. Then I remembered that I had no emotion so I made my face stoic. We sped up the many stone staircases to the top of the hideout, where the One-tails jinchuriki would be sealed. Sierra was going to have to cope on her own for three days and nights on her own. I just hope she doesn't try to stop us, as she had originally planned. I wouldn't want to get into a brawl with such a fragile girl, kekkai genkai or not.


	8. Jewel Release Awakened!

M-P: Get ready. This chapter's a big one.

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked around. Sitting up, I came to the realisation that neither Deidara nor Sasori were in the fall with me. I stretched and decided to try to find something to chew. Walking around, I realised that the area was larger than I had thought. I had been walking aimlessly through a small meadow of cherry blossom trees when I came to the foot of a massive tree, and it definitely wasn't an oak. Looking up through the branches, I realised that this was an almond tree. But it was massive! And there were some nice chewy looking almonds . . . right at the top. I gulped. I was hungry, but I've never climbed a tree before, not even a tiny one. This one was huge. What if I fell off? I swallowed and brought my fist to my chest. _What's wrong with you? You are the girl who saved Matsuri. You hand a kunai knife go straight through your hand and you didn't flinch! Even Gaara would have winced, but you stayed firm! So what if you fall out of this tree? You're a ninja, you can land on your damn feet! _Pushing down my ever-present fear, I placed my hands on the tree. There were no footholds. I guess Sasori polished this tree. But somehow, I managed to get all four limbs up the tree. When I was high enough to grab on to the stable branches, I let go of the tree trunk and grabbed on to a branch and just dangled there with one hand. Peering down, I whimpered to realise that I was about seven metres into the air. No backing out now. I scaled the tree by branch and grabbed as many almonds as I could fit into my ninja pouch, leaving a handful to eat. When I had finished, I came to an understanding, and almost fell out of the tree. Deidara and Sasori must have gone to begin the sealing jutsu! Judging by the warmth, it must be noon. The hologram said to begin at dawn. I don't know how long this jutsu takes, but they could already be done! Not even considering the dangers, I stood on the highest point of the tree and jumped down, from about thirty-eight metres in the air, landing on my toes and dashing to the door that lead to the base.

* * *

Running up the stairs, I came to a group of multiple staircases. I'm not a sensory ninja, and even if I was, I'm still a genin, so I wouldn't be able to sense a presence more than, say, ten metres away. Then I remebered. _Byakugan! _I had never really used this kekkai genkai before, so I winced when my eyesight intensified. But I could see everything. Running up a flight of stairs, I remebered the path I had memorised and walked backwards up all the stairs, until I reached the top, where I saw them. Deidara and Sasori and a bunch of holograms standing on what looked to be fingers in front of some kind of massive statue. It sounded like the holograms were discussing something.  
"The brat who had mastered my puppets chased after us. He should be dead by tommorow." Sasori declared, back in his former puppet suit. Deidara was about to say something when he was cut off by a man with red eyes. _The Sharingan. _Deidara glared at him.  
"There is another presence here, and it is very powerful. It's coming from that staircase." A barely audible groan emitted from Deidara and Sasori. Sasori began muttering under his breath about placing a jutsu that would keep me in the fall.  
"Sierra, what the heck do you think you're doing?" Deidara growled. Very much like the way an older brother would scold a younger sister for entering their room without knocking. Walking out from my hiding place, I let out a cry. Gaara had been enveloped by a large amount of chakra and some kind of substance was being drawn from him.  
"Gaara." I whispered. An anger like none I've ever experienced before, began to seep through my veins. I pointed to the artists and the holograms.  
"What are you doing to my Kazekage?" I hissed. Deidara stared at me, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.  
"Sasori, her eyes-" Sasori grunted in understanding.  
"What has he ever done to you? He doesn't even know you!" I began running. I could see that they were all only using one arm to do this jutsu. Some dude with a triple bladed scythe began laughing like a maniac. All fear replaced by rage, I spat at him.  
"What are you laughing at? I bet you're some newbie with no respect. You haven't even got good composure. Plus you must be older than Deidara. Man, does he show you up." Deidara laughed while Sasori muttered, "Now you've done it." Mr. Scythe was about to throw something at me, when he was stopped by rinnengan man.  
"Hidan, stop. She could be of use to us. Let Zetsu deal with her." Hidan, spat out some profanities that even Jun would find shocking. I just stood staring at them. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. . . there are nine of them. _I didn't notice two white creatures creeping behind me, until I felt a strange chakra near my heels. Without even looking, I lifted my right leg straight up and held it there as several paper bombs missed me. All the members gasped. I could feel new strength coursing through my veins, and it only upped my fury at what they were doing to Gaara. These clones had multiplied and there were about eight of them now. I didn't really know any jutsu, due to me being a genin, but under Temari's short training, I knew enough to tell that they were trying to distract me so that they could perform a bigger attack. After dodging an attack, I was only just quick enough to dodge a kunai with a paper bomb attached, but it still got me and rested on one knee, clutching my left arm before coughing out the strong smoke I had inhaled. Then I stopped. This stuff didn't smell like normal smoke. _It's poison!_ I held my breath, but it was too late. I had inhaled too much smoke. I felt a stinging sensation in the back of my eyes and held back tear when I coughed blood onto my hand. _Blood. Crimson red blood. Crimson red, like a ruby. Ruby red. _I don't even know where the thought came from but it gave me an idea. Turning to face my opponents, I groaned. They'd multiplied. There were fifty four of them. In such a short time too. I spat out some blood when I was brutally punched into a wall from behind. Correction, there are fifty five of them. Getting onto my feet, I wiped my bloody mouth with my bare wrist and stood up properly, panting. I looked around. I'm pretty sure that if this was a mission, it would labelled S-rank. I needed to gather some chakra. Being so inexperienced, this might not work. But I have to try, right. I jumped up as high as I could from my current stance and grabbed a very small bump that was sticking out of the wall. They all jumped up after me. _Gather all your pain, Sierra! Let it out like and explosion! Let it out like Deidara, but make it last like Sasori!_ Making sure I didn't fall off, I placed both feet on the wall and pushed off with all my might, weaving hand signs that I had never really known. Those Zetsu clones had multiplied again to one hundred and fourteen. Even better. Trying to remeber, I bgan to mutter:_ tori, tatsu, tora, uma, inu, mi,_ with my hands clasped in the snake hand sign to end my chant. Then, placing my palms on the same level as my feet, which were still in the air, I grabbed my ankles and managed to throw myself higher. When I was high enough, so high that I could still see Gaara being sealed and Deidara and Sasori staring at me with disturbed expressions, I lifted my right hand and yelled, "Jewel style: Crimson Ruby Bloodbath!"


	9. The Chase for Gaara

The air around me began to solidify, turning into red glass. It gathered into a transparent red clump around me, sheilding me from all the paper bombs attacks that were being thrown at me. All the Akatsuki members were staring at me, some with shocked eyes, like Deidara and Sasori and the Sharingan guy, others with wide open mouths, no shame whatsoever, like Hidan. Then I let out a yell so fierce that my ball began to shake. The air around my clump began firing shards at the Zetsus, splitting each one clear in half. When all of then had been split, I put my arms by my sides and landed lightly on the ground. The members had all put their hands down.  
"So it really did take three days and nights." Deidara smirked, rolling his shoulders, before shooting me a worried glance.  
"Ugh! My shoulders ache!" Hidan complained, clicking his neck. Then he stopped. Before me, the holograms were disappearing.  
"Deidara, Sasori, I want you to capture the Nine-Tails jinchuriki that's headed this way. Itachi knows who he is." Said rinnengan man, before also vanishing. So they were capturing jinchuriki. But why? Only Itachi, the sharingan guy remained. I could see Deidara's displeasure at having to spend even longer with him. I guess it was Itachi that brought him into this organisation. But Deidara's frown was replaced just as quickly with his smirk as though the frown hadn't been there at all.  
"So what's the jinchuriki like?" Deidara asked.  
"He is the one who barges in and barks first." Itachi stated, before disappearing. Deidara moaned.  
"How's that supposed to help?" Then he grinned. Taking the limp body of Gaara, he sat directly in front of the entrance to the hideout, on Gaara! I rushed forward.  
"Get off him now!" I roared.  
"Sorry Sierra, but this is, believe it or not, a mission. And here at the Akatsuki, we don't fail missions." I paused and stood staring, as both my new artist friends, frowned sadly and sighed heavily. I was standing with my back to the door when I sensed a disturbing presence under my feet. I jumped with a squeal when the boulder cracked and broke. I covered my eyes as the sun rays from outside temporarily blinded me. Sasori and Deidara had massive eyes, before returning to normal: Deidara with a triumphant smirk and Sasori with his puppet's wooden eyes. In ran a boy with spiky blonde hair and red eyes slit down the middle. He was followed by a pink haired and a man who wore his headband as a sort of eyepatch and . . . Lady Chiyo?! He stopped and stared at Gaara, who was lying lifeless under Deidara's butt. A sickening thought began to form in my mind. Gaara couldn't be . . .? I swallowed and took a few steps backward.  
"Get off Gaara, NOW!" The blond kid yelled, his canines elongated and the whisker-like things on his cheeks becoming more vibrant. Deidara and Sasori chose that specific moment to start arguing about art. I stared at them, bitterly amused. Then Deidara created a clay bird and hopped on, after it had taken Gaara up in its mouth. Then he flew above the heads of the jinchuriki and his team and out to the canyon in which the hideout was, well hidden.  
"Deidara, what's up with you?" I shouted, before racing afer him. I could hear the blonde kid shout something, but I didn't know what. All I knew, was that Deidara was being weird and I had to get my . . . now deceased Kazekage back. I hopped onto the back of the bird and waited, glaring at the mass of golden hair on the older boy in front of me.

* * *

It's been, say one hour now, and Deidara is still trying to get Naruto- I know his name now- from the eyepatch ninja. I now remember. His name is Kakashi Hatake the Copy Ninja, but the copy ninja, jonin, I think, won't go. We're in a forest now. And Deidara has given up on Gaara. Kakashi somehow managed to develop the Mongekyo Sharingan and transported Deidara's remaining arm to another dimension. I hid with Deidara in the trees. An image of the jinchuriki enveloped in a cloak type thing, with a tail forming. Then another image was of Deidara being sucked into some other dimension. I froze when both images popped into my mind, one after the other.  
"Deidara!" I called out, catching onto the edge of his black cloak. We both stopped on a tree. He turned to me with inquiring eyes.  
"Deidara, the next time you battle Kakashi, promise me that you'll use a decoy and escape." I told him urgently.  
"Why? Why shouldn't I fight like a man? Why can't I prove my power, my art, hm?"  
"Because I care about you!" I yelled, then blushed at the outburst. He stared at me, open-mouthed.  
"You-you _care_ about me?" He inquired, disbelievingly. I nodded sheepishly, avoiding all eye contact with him. He placed his forehead on my own, because he has no arms and smiled at me through his bang.  
"You know what? You're like a sister to me, even though I've only known you for three days. You're one of my muses. And I don't pick people to be my muses." He finished hastly. I nodded. Sitting down on the branch, we devised a plan. Deidara would use his detonating clay clone and escape, and I would retrieve Gaara's body.

* * *

Hugging him one last time, I bid Deidara farewell and hid as he began his battle with Kakashi.

* * *

It had worked. Deidara escaped. And that was when Naruto began forming his tail, but was stopped by Kakashi. I jumped down beside Gaara, only to be confronted by three shadow clones of Naruto. Taking a few unsteady steps back, I leaned back into a battle stance. The clones disappeared and Naruto, with blue sapphire eyes, quite like my own, but slightly smaller than mine, stood in front of Gaara. We glared defiantly at each other. Then Naruto, picking Gaara up with a mournful look in his eye. Then he began to run away.  
"No!" I cried, dashing after him. I caught up easily with him, because he only stopped in a clearing. That was where we met Lady Chiyo and the pink haired girl and Kakashi.  
"Sierra? Of the Maeko clan? What are you doing here?" Chiyo inquired. Naruto stared at her in astonishment.  
"Wait, you know her?! She was with that Akatsuki guy!" The jinchuriki yelled, pointing, quite rudely at me. Then he calmed down and stared at me. I blushed under his gaze. Lady Chiyo glanced at Gaara's dead body.  
"Sierra, wait and stand guard with Kakashi and Sakura, will you?" She wheezed for a while, before kneeling by his side. I watched in awe as she began a jutsu. I stepped forward to help her when she gasped in pain, but I was stopped by Kakashi's left arm. She was using the Reanimation jutsu! She was sacrificing his life for his- but . . . she didn't have enough chakra. I gasped when Naruto began helping her. Surely he would die as well? But then it came to me. He was a jinchuriki with ridiculous chakra reserves. He would live. I could now see multiple ninja from the Sand Village assembling in the clearing. I could see Temari, Matsuri, Sari and . . . a weakened Kankuro. I felt a smile tug at my lips to see him wearing his usual attire- minus the cat hat. By the time I looked back down, Lady Chiyo was lying in the pink girl's arms. I felt a tear slip out from under my eyelid, just as the shinobi of the Sand Village erupted into cheers.

Gaara was alive.


	10. The Hidden Leaf

We've been back in the Sand Village for about three days and the Leaf ninjas are leaving. Naruto just shook Gaara's hand before they all began heading away.  
"Sierra, go with them." Temari commanded. My head snapped in her direction, just as Naruto gave a cry of disbelief.  
"Heh?! You want _her _to come with us?" All three siblings nodded as Matsuri and Sari came running through the crowd.  
"We're ready, Gaara-sensei!" They called, eyeing him hungrily in his black clothing. He was still mourning the death of Lady Chiyo. I eyed them warily.  
"Ready for what?" The both exhaled with exasperation.  
"We're leaving for the Chunin Exams, you dud!" Matsuri shouted at me, glaring at me. I took an unconcious step behind Naruto and chewed my lip. I don't like being shouted at. Everyone turned to stare at me.  
"You can't be much of a ninja if you can't even bear to have people look at you." A guy with brown hair that was almost as long as mine, scolded. Another girl with buns in her hair glared at him.  
"She's the same as Hinata, Neji. Would you ever say that to _Hinata's _face?" He was beginning to look worried, and he also took a step back. Another boy with an . . . um . . . _unusual_ haircut stood in between them.  
"Tenten, Neji, do not frighten her. She is one of the future generation. We must allow her to embrace her shy youth!" Then he and another who looked like the older version of him began crying large tears of joy. I squeaked when I felt a hand in the small of my back and turned to see Naruto smiling softly at me.  
"Ignore them. Neji just doesn't like showing how much he cares, so he makes snarky comments to hide his concern." _Oh. _They were smiling teasingly. I nodded and waved to my teachers before running after the others.

* * *

By the time we reached the gates, I had learnt everyone's names; Naruto was the Nine-tails Jinchuriki, Sakura was under the training of Lady Tsunade, and has amazing chakra control. Neji was a member of the Hyuga clan and was considered a genius among his comrades. Tenten was the weapon mistress and she carried around different scrolls because she had a gift for fuuinjutsu. Rock Lee and Guy were very close and they relied mainly of taijutsu. They raced each other to the Leaf. I partook too. They were crying big man tears before they realised that I had won. I giggled at their faces. They were quite funny. The other ninja smiled at my face and shook their heads at the two over dramatic men. Naruto came and pushed me forward, following Sakura and the others into the village. Lee came with us. We entered a building. Matsuri, Sari and I all stood with our mouths wide open. We were in some kind of training hall, with a kunai knife target at the end. It was massive. Standing on the viewing balconies were a group of teenagers around my age. They stopped their conversation to stare at us.  
"Hey, Naruto, who're your friends?" A boy with short messy hair sitting astride a big, sorry, _massive_ white dog, called, eyeing me appraisingly. I looked down shyly.  
"Hey Kiba, these are friends of Gaara. Sierra, meet Kiba, the dog boy (Kiba glared at him when he said this) Hinata, she's Neji's cousin,(She gave a small wave) Shino, um, he likes bugs.(He stayed still) The guy with the long hair is called Choji,(He smiled as he chomped on some crisp of some kind) and the lazy guy next to him is called Shikamaru.(He didn't The girl standing next to _him _is called Ino. You've already met Neji, Tenten and Bushy Brows." He winced as two outraged shrieks pierced our ears. Matsuri and Sari looked furious. I chewed my lip.  
"Um . . . everyone, these are my teammates, Matsuri and Sari. We're going to participate in the next Chunin Exams." They gaped at them.  
"But- you don't really look like much." Kiba said, looking pointedly at Matsuri. Sari stood forward and looked up at him.  
"Just because we aren't chunin like you guys probably are, doesn't mean that we can't do anything!"  
"Well, if you can't even control your attitude when you're talking to your welcome party, then you don't even deserve to be a chunin!" He barked back, causing her to shrink behind Matsuri, who in turn, began to shrink behind Naruto. I felt my cheeks flame with embarrassment at my teammates shame. They were 17 for crying out loud! But this guy was mean. I could feel  
"That's not fair." I said quietly, looking down at the door just below the viewing balconies. Shino and Ino stopped reprimanding Kiba for his rudeness, Choji stopped chewing his chips, Shikamaru stopped dozing and sat up, Hinata stopped staring with a small smile at Naruto, Sakura and Lee, who stopped chatting about the mission and Neji and Tenten stopped whispering. Matsuri and Sari stood up and glared at me, obviously telling to shut up with their eyes. All the Leaf ninja were staring at me, mouths open. I could feel the heat of Kiba's glare. He probably didn't like being defied.  
"What did you say?" I lifted my head slowly, inhaling largely.  
"I said, that, that's not fair." I looked him square in the eye. His eyes had become hard and annoyed.  
"It's not fair that you think that just because you're a chunin and we're not, you know much better than we do. If you're so superior and useful, where were you when Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki? Where were you when Naruto and Sakura came to help? What were you doing? Probably relaxing and training." He glared at me, but I could easily see the bead of sweat forming on his brow. I spoke louder, but still quite quietly.  
"While my Kazekage was being tormented and _killed_, you were sitting on your ass, having fun! While I was captured, then given freedom to chase after him, _where were you_?! Why didn't you insist on helping? Because you didn't care? Because you didn't know Gaara personally? Or because you were too scared? I may not have been in the village with Matsuri and Sari, but I know that they were dying to do more than watch the village borders. They _tried_ to do something. Naruto did something and in the end, he helped bring Gaara back to life. Don't you _dare_ go around shooting your mouth off like you know something, when actually you don't get _anything_ at _all. _I couldn't give a damn if you were a Kage or a child from the Academy, the fact that you didn't care when you knew prove just how much of a jerk you are. Gaara may not be the most sociable of people and not the kindest, but at least he forgave those who hurt him. You can't seem to let go of a stupid boy grudge." I finished with a glare that caused him to look at anything that wasn't me, sweat droplets clearly formed on his neck. Turning scarlett, I looked at the door again.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Maybe you did care but couldn't do anything about it. Sorry." I muttered, feeling that same panic when I realised that all eyes were on me. A loud, "hey!" brought my eyes up to see Shikamaru stumbling down the stairs that led from the viewing balconies to the ground floor. Ino and Sakura were glaring at him.  
"I'll take you to the place where you should be staying, seeing as I'm in charge of the Chunin Exams this year. Temari should be back in a few day." He drawled, leading us out of the training hall into the beautiful place that was the Leaf Village.


	11. The Chunin Exams: Stage One

"Ow!" I squealed as something solid made contact with my head. I sat up and threw the pillow back at Sari, who had been laughing. I got up wordlessly, glaring at them as I put on my pouch. After Matsuri had emerged from the bathroom, we raced each other to the Leaf Academy. I won, of course, I was the fastest by nature. We bypassed two proctors who whistled lowly as we walked past. Sari nudged me and Matsuri glared, causing me to blush.

* * *

In the exam, the proctor, Ibiki, told us to begin. My heart sank as I analysed each question. The next one was harder than the last. Then a mental light switched on in my head. _I know it isn't right, but I'm going to_ have _to cheat. _Sighing, I tried to think of a way to find the answers. Only two people in the entire room were writing. One was just four rows ahead of me. I grinned and willed a ball of mirrors to land on the midpoint between us. It was a jutsu Kankuro taught me. Activating my Sharingan, I began imitiating his moves. Then, moving slowly my dragging my pencil across my desk, I began writing and prayed that Sari, who was behind me and sitting five seats down from Matsuri, would look up. Doing the action myself, I saw a smile open her face. Matsuri, however, was hunched over the paper, panting with anxiety. She wasn't going to look up. Oh, what to do? I groaned and plonked my head on the table. I had used mirrors to get to Sari, but she had been looking. Matsuri needed a mental image or something._ Rinnengan_, a voice murmured in my head. _Diedara_. Shaking my head, I pulled a mirror from my pouch and looked myself in the eye. The proctor on my row was staring at me intensly. I blinked and my eyes turned purple and ripples occured in them. Looking nonchalantly outside the window, I blinked. The sky turned dark and heavy rain began falling. Everyone turned to stare outside, giving me ample oppurtunity to fold my sheet and slide under the desks till it scratched against Matsuri's feet. She cringed, scowled at me and bent down. Eyes widening, she began scribbling down my answers onto her own sheet. She needed time though. I had wanted her to give me her sheet to write on, but she didn't want that, it seemed. Trying to keep everyone's attention, I caused some lightening to light up the sky. Everyone gasped and clamberes to stare. When she was done, Matsuri threw the sheet back at me. I stood up, caught it and sat back down. We were all fine now.

* * *

After waiting for everyone to finish. We were all given the choice as to whether we wanted to leave or not. All three of us stayed, though I felt a little worried. If we failed, we could never be chunin. _Ever_. But in the end, we passed by taking the risk and staying.

Now we are stage two of the chunin exams: The Forest of Death.

Can't wait.


	12. Chunin Exams: Return to the Leaf

M-P: You might be happy to hear. . . Gaara is back on P.O.V! Yay! . . . no? OK -.-'

* * *

I sat up and stared. At what? Nothing. I hadn't even realised that I hadn't slept in my own room since Sierra left. In fact . . . somehow I had ended up in Sierra's bed. Why? I'm not sure, it just felt right. Her pillow smelt like almonds and caramel. I fell back onto it and inhaled the scent, feeling a smile tug at my lips. This was the first night I had ever been asleep peacefully, and I felt ready for almost anything. A frown creased my face. Was it really because I had gotten sleep that I felt so calm, or the fact that I had slept in Sierra's bed? I sat up again as I heard some shouting.  
"Well, he's not in his room!"  
"So where the heck _is_ he?"_ Oh boy_. We're supposed to be going to the Leaf today. It will be great to see Sierra- and the others, of course, but they can handle themselves. I hope that she can keep up with them though, _without_ getting her hand run through. I started when the door burst open, rushing to stand by the window, only then remebering that I was only in PJ pants, so I hurried back to the bed, throwing the covers over my legs just as my older siblings entered, gaping at me.  
"Gaara?!"  
"What the hell are you doing in Sierra's room?"  
"You can't really blame hi- OW!" I sighed and got out of bed. They stopped bickering.  
"I'm sorry. It just felt right to sleep here instead of my own room. I'll be ready within the hour." I murmured, walking back to my solar.

* * *

After three unbearable, but uneventful days, we reached the main gates.

Finally, the Hidden Leaf Village.


	13. Enter: Darcy, JJ and Ty

M-P: Becuase she is so awesome and inspiring, I have dedicated this chapter to the Kazekage of Suna! Her character in this story is now called- Darcy. ;P

* * *

Darcy's P.O.V

I moaned as a pain like no other clouded my head. What in the hell had happened to me? Suddenly aware that I wasn't in the city anymore, I glanced around and noticed Ty and JJ, my two best friends, lying beside me, still unconscious. It was only then that I heard voices. "Oh God, are they even alive?"  
"Sierra, what are you doing?! They could be shinobi. Don't waste your time on them. We have to get to the tower before we get attacked."  
"Yeah, we're lucky that we only came across somebody who had an earth scroll. Sierra!" Sitting back on my heels, I eyed the approaching threesome. The girl called Sierra had very large blue eyes and hair that was fair and unruly. She kept chewing on her bottom lip, assessing us to see if we were, uh, 'shinobi'. The one who glared at her most had shoulder length brown hair and plain brown eyes. The one who stared at me with open interest had long brown hair with a lifted bang and sparkling eyes.  
"Are you alright?" Sierra asked, her face an uncertain mask. I looked up at her, momentarily mesmerised, before snapping out of it.  
"How 'bout you tell me where we are, then I'll answer your question." The plain girl stood forward.  
"Oh, that's simple. You're in the Forest of Death on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village. Are you OK now?" I gulped, before shrieking.  
"No, I am not freaking OK! Are we supposed to die in here?!" Sierra gave a small smile then gasped.  
"They're awake!" We all turned to see JJ and Ty staring back at us, dazed.  
"Darcy?" The asked simultainiously. I went and told them that we had somehow ended up in a forest. After I finished, I paused and shivered. Another presence was here and it didn't have good intentions.  
"Can we get out of here? Now, please?" The three older girls nodded, gave each other a look and began running at a ridiculous speed. Ty and JJ kept up, of course, with Ty's dark brown ringletts trailing after her in two tails and JJ's curly black ponytail following suit. I had to pause for a moment, to catch my breath. That was a mistake.

* * *

JJ's P.O.V

I froze as a screech so loud pierced my eardrums that I knew it could only be Darcy. Turning back, I would've laughed, had the guy holding Darcy in the death grip wasn't so scary. Darcy was trying to glare at him, but he just jerked her long navy hair back, causing her to cry out in pain. Then he began searching her. When she didn't have what he wanted, he slapped her to the floor. Ty and I cringed. He was in trouble now. Darcy glared at him from the ground. Two other guys jumped out from nowhere behind the first. We rushed to stand by our best friend, who was trembling in fury. The boys started jeering. I felt a rage build up inside of me. How dare they laugh at my friend! Before I realised, all three of us were standing with our hands cupped forward, as if catching a ball. My palm filled up with what looked like red lightening, and it shot out and impaled the one standing in front of me. I looked over to see that Ty and Darcy had done the same, but the lightening in Ty's hands was caput mortuum and Darcy's a deep indigo. Taking a step back, I tripped back onto my bottom, staring at my shaking hands. Ty was also looking at her hands, a look of pure terror on her face. Darcy, however, had turned to glare at the trio that had began to lead us away from the clearing we were in, which was just so conveniantly filled with- "Shuriken?!" Ty also turned, and I got to my feet, not looking at them, just staring at the pointy star thing, thinking.

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

"Where are we? Are we even in New York anymore?" I screeched. I knew everything there was to know about combat and weapons, it was my thing.  
"Are we in some kind of ninja world or something?!" Darcy snarled. I could feel a rage bubbling up in me and I wished that I had one of spikes or nanchaku. I was so confused. How did we get here? Was it something to do with Sage's illness? He passed out, then I did too. What happened to him? I felt my blood turn cold. I had to get home.

* * *

Darcy's P.O.V

"Well, yes, you are in a ninja world, but we call it shinobi. We are kunoichi- female shinobi. We are currently participating in a test called the Chunin Exams, which is a test to prove that you are intelligent enough to graduate from being a genin, a beginner ninja. We are in the second stage right now. You just fell from some kind of portal from the sky." Sierra explained over her shoulder. Then she did something really weird. She and her teammates began leaping from branch to branch. Like, how? JJ followed straight after, of course. She was a typical daredevil, and loved doing stupid, scary, tomboy things. Ty and I looked at each other, then continue running.  
"Where are we even going?" JJ called from her branch.  
"To the tower!" The plain one yelled back. I sighed. Somehow we had ended up in a different dimension with new powers. I can't wait to see what happens next.


	14. The Chunin Exams: Ty's Combat clash

We arrived at the tower quite early. Luckily. Darcy, JJ and Ty looked around wearily. They couldn't possibly be ninjas, but it seemed that JJ, with her dark chocolate skin and black hair, knew a thing or two about our lifestyle, since she kept up with us best. They slumped into a heap of joy when we walked inside.

It was a mistake bringing them in through this door.

* * *

"What are your names?"  
"Hey, er Kotetsu-sensei, these are our new friends. They, er, fell out of the sky. The one with blue hair and green eyes is Darcy, the one with black hair and axinite eyes is JJ and this one with the ringletted dark hair and purple eyes is called Ty."  
"Good to know. You'll have to prove your worth here, so get ready to fight." He murmed, before sauntering off to the rest of the proctors. I stared at his retreating figure.  
"But- Kotetsu! They aren't shinobi!"  
"Too bad. If they're in this tower, then they have to fight." I sighed and looked dejectedly at the three. I was surprised to see them trailing up the stairs to the viewing balconies, looking back at us sadly.

* * *

Darcy's P.O.V

I give up. If we're going to have to fight to find some answers, then fine. Have it their way.

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

"Darcy, how the hell are we gonna fight?!" I whispered in her ear as the first preliminaries began. We were in deep shit. And we had no clue how to clean it off.

* * *

JJ's P.O.V

They turned to stare at me, with pleading expressions, on their faces. I tugged at the hem of my army cargos, a habit I had that showed that I was thinking.  
"Well- we did manage to do some sweet lightening tricks to those guys who attacked us just before we got here. Maybe we can try doing that again to fight. Then, we can get out of here OK." Sierra and her teammate came to stand by us as the girl with long hair and sparkling eyes began her match.  
"You could, but you were in danger. Not serious danger, but because you were in that situation, you managed to perforum a jutsu. You can't really do that now, 'cause you know that you're safe." The plain one stated. Sierra looked offended on our behalf.  
"Matsuri! How could you say something like that? You wouldn't have like it if Gaara told you that you couldn't do anything because of your fear of-" we didn't hear her next word becuase that Matsuri chick had clamped her hand over her mouth. We stared at them in wonder. So, Matsuri had a major weakness, huh?  
"Wait, who's Gaara?" Darcy asked. Both of the older girls blushed. Sierra looked away and Matsuri stood there with her hands on her cheeks in a day dream manner. So, both of them had some kind of crush on this Gaara guy, huh? Must be cute. Just then, the big board, beeped.

_Ty vs Yoichi_

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

My heart momentarily stopped. I swear that name means bewitching, right? And if the, er, ninjas here all had some weird powers, then what did that mean for me? I muttered some profanities that Tony, my older brother had taught me. Squaring my shoulders, I asked if Sierra had any weapons. Matsuri stepped forward and strapped the puch that she had had on her right leg onto my own, giving me a strange relieved look.  
"That is a ninja pouch. Inside there are twelve kunai, fourteen shuriken and about ten needles. Use this to help you fight, though I can't imagine how you even know what they are." She stated, shuddering at the weapons' names. So, she has a fear of weapons, huh? That could be useful info for the future. Gritting my teeth, I jogged down the stairs and stood in front of my opponent. He eyed me as if he couldn't believe it, and not in a good way.

So, he thinks I'm weak, huh?

Boy, is it on.


	15. Ty's Combat Clash part 2

M-P: Hi guys! *waves madly* I have created my first poll! It's called, "What category do you think I should write more in?" If you like the way I write then please review and if you don't . . . bah! Review anyway! ^.^

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

I watched in disgust as the bastard spat at my feet. _Gross_. The proctor told us that we could start. I barely had enough time to turn and push my hands in front of me as I collided with the wall, causing myself to become winded, but no injuries. _Yet._ This guy was ridiculous. How could anyone be that fast? I was too stunned to move, giving this guy another opportunity to - slap me? I winced at the pain. Removing my hand from my cheek, I glowered at him, then let out a scream and gripped the area around my heart. Looking up at him, I felt a liquid form in my mouth and gasped when I coughed it out. _Blood! _I felt my face pale. It was happening again, only this time, to me.

I passed out.

* * *

JJ's P.O.V

"Ty!" Darcy yelled, leaning over the railing. Both Sari, who had returned from her won battle, and I grabbed her by the waist to restrain her. This was just like what happened before. I winced. Ty had blacked out. And there was blood dripping from her mouth. _Blood_. I took in shaky breaths, attempting to stabilise my breathing.

It looked like Ty was out, but just as the proctor was about to announce that creep Yoichi as winner, she mumbled something before struggling to her feet. I let out a whoop before realising. She glared at him and wiped the blood off her chin and rummaged in her pouch thing and pulled out a kunai, I think that's what it's called. She was assessing it when a rushing sound caused her to turn and blindly shove her knife into the air around her. There was a gasp and Yoichi suddenly jumped away, before she let out a strained moan and fell to the ground. That Yoichi guy had his hads gripped in some kind of hand sign. I had noticed him do this before, and each time, Ty had felt pain.

It was him. He was doing something to Ty's heart!

I felt sick._ He_ was _sick _in the_ freaking head_. If this continued, Ty could get hibernating myocardium or something. I leaned over the rail, much like Darcy had, and screamed,  
"TY! Ty, you have to get up! You can't let this guy make those sign! Those are the signs that are causing you pain! TY!" Darcy and the others had caught on and they were all shouting.

"Just cut off his fingers!"  
"This guy won't get to you. He can't! You can't let him!"  
"After saving yourself from potential danger, are you just going to let some skimpy little nymph get to you? I thought you were better than that!" He looked up and glared at us before turning back to smiling creepily at Ty's partially limp body.  
"You adapted quickly to the situation you were in before, you can easily adapt now!"  
"You've come so far in life. All the pain, suffering and tears. You saved your family from a life of poverty and humiliation. Are you going to let this . . . ninja creep, ruin everything you worked so hard to build? Are you?!" I cried. Ty turned to look at me, her ringlets whipping around her face. Her eyes had turned the same colour as her lightning had been. Caput mortuum.

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

They had been there for me. All this time, JJ and Darcy had always been there for me. They had taken care of me in my worst moments, and they're doing it now. There's no way I'm letting them down.

I stood up properly and faced my opponent.  
"So, you still have enough strength to stand after my Heart Bewitching Jutsu? Well, your mother must have been quite active." My eyes snapped up to meet his gaze.  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"I mean, that your mother must have been a whore. Or something of the sort." He leered creepily. I could feel hurt and rage climbing toward the top of my sanity. Gripping my kunai, I dashed forward. I don't think he was expecting me to be so fast, because he looked so shocked- when I slashed at his right hand. He let out a cry before jumping away from my next attack. My fury was blinding my sense of reason, but not my judgement. _I need that lighte__ning. Please, let me use some of it to show this man that his judgement is incorrect. My mother was wise, not a whore. She wasn't a_ whore! My knife suddenly started shaking in my hand and I gasped as a line of caput mortuum lightning began to form around the blade. I stared at it. No sound could be heard. It sounded like everyone was holding their breath. Then one, then two voices began chanting.

_The dreams of a girl_  
_Can seem useless to the world_  
_But we know that aint true_  
_We'll even prove it to you_  
_Come and watch_  
_Come behold_  
_The girls of whom this tale be told_  
_We, the lightning of New York_  
_Red, Indigo and Caput Mortuum!_

I looked up to see Darcy and JJ pounding out the beat on the railings as they chanted, with Sierra, Matsuri and Sari pounding the beat as well because they didn't know the words. Soon, all the people on the viewing balcony that they were standing on were pounding on the railings. _They're supporting you_. Turning back to my opponent, I saw him gingerly placing his fingers in that weird hand sign. I took a deep breath and refused to flinch when something tugged at my heart. I didn't hurt as much. He dashed forward, as did I. All I could see was the colour of my lightning as it slashed across the area, temporarily blinding me. I refused to turn around, but my heart skipped a beat as the proctor stood forward and spoke,

"The winner of the match is-" my breathing hitched.

"Ty!"


	16. JJ's Match Decided

M-P: Hey peoples. Those of you who bother reading these messages will know that I've been dedicating authors on FanFic to characters in my story. I have a new dedication. In this story Gaaralover2247 is Ty! ;D

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

I couldn't believe it. I had won! I was safe. Heaving a great big sigh, I let out a yell so loud that I startled myself.  
"YES!" I attempted to run back to the others, but tripped over my twisted ankle. Luckily, I was caught by Sierra, who had rushed down to meet me with the others. It was over. I had one. I was safe. But . . . now JJ, Darcy and Sierra and Matsuri had to battle. Darcy leaned me against the wall behind the railings of the viewing balcony. We both looked at the screen. My heart fell to the floor.

_JJ vs Chiriko_


	17. JJ vs Chiriko

M-P: Hey guys. I think this chapter might be good. I don't own Beyonce or her alter ego.

* * *

JJ's P.O.V

My jaw dragged my head down and it banged on the railings. I let out a small growl of frustration and looked up. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to go down to face my opponent. She was a pretty girl, with hair in a long fringed pixie cut that covered her right eye. I couldn't tell if her hair was black or navy blue, you choose. She eyed me when I stood before her. Her left eye was a haunting shade of purple, a lot lighter than Ty's indigo ones. They looked like something you might drip into poison, if you get what I mean. As soon as the proctor said that we may begin, she took a few steps forward, whilst creating some hand signs. The world blurred around me before coming back into focus. All I could see was the ceiling and smell some flower petals. _Jasmine_? I had somehow ended on the floor. I swallowed and instantly regretted it. Something was pouring itself down my throat, and it was thick and suffocating. I attempted to shut my mouth, but couldn't. I reached up to cup my throat, only to realise that someone else's hands had got there first. Squinting, I clocked that I could now see Chiriko's right eye - and it terrified me. Her right eye was totally lilac, with no pupil, and . . . it was, glowing.


	18. JJ: Meet Sasha Fierce!

My heart stuttered.  
"You can't possibly win now." She whispered in a voice much like a little girl singing a creepy voice.  
"My methods are ingenious. I have never lost a battle yet and I don't plan on doing so now. You cannot defeat me. You, who knows nothing about this world. You, who knows nothing about chakra or violence. You who never suffered. You, who knows nothing." Tears welled up in my eyes. I struggled to my feet, trembling with each rising movement. She had turned her back to me and was walking away, when I had finally stood up properly.  
"How dare you? How _dare _you?! How dare you judge me!" She looked back to me, a surprised look on her face, before returning to that stoic glare of hers.  
"How are you still conscious? My jutsu should've knocked your chakra flow off by now." I let out a short, bitter chuckle.  
"What the hell are you talking about? I don't have any chakra. I'm not from this area, not even sure if I'm from this world. But let me tell what I do know. I know that you don't know anything about me, nor what goes on in my head. You don't know anything about my intelligence. And- do you know what? You just crossed a very, _very_ fine line, and _you_ are _so going to pay_." I forced myself to bite back a smile when I heard Darcy cheer.  
"Show 'em your Sasha Fierce, JJ!" I allowed myself a grin.  
"Sasha Fierce? What is that?" Chiriko demanded, obviously annoyed that she hadn't won.  
"Back where we come from," I began. "There is the famous chick called Beyonce. And she has some real attitude. People often to relate me to her, whenever I get pissed, which isn't very often. But when I do go SF on you, I hope you have a pillow to cry into, bitch." There was a collective gasp from the viewing balconies. I noticed her left pupil begin to enlargen with rage. She took some steps backward, trying to create a handsign but I beat her to it. She wasn't very fast, and I was faster than your average _boy. _I punched her hands down, preventing her from making the signs. She fell to the ground.  
"I bet you fight from a distance, since you aren't very good at close combat." I picked her up by her wrists, which she squealed at.  
"I don't like using violence on other girls, but did mess with me. Let's get this straight now. If you, or anyone, ever, _ever_, tells me that I'm stupid, directly or not, I will beat your ass so thin and flat that your skin will be the only thing that makes you recognisable as a human being." She spat in my face, I gave her a slap so hard, it send her into the wall. She lay limp. The proctor came forward, staring at me warily with a hint of admiration. After checking that Chiriko was still alive, despite unconscious, he raised his hand.

"The winner, is JJ!"


	19. Darcy: Syncro & Diver- With Attitude!

Darcy's P.O.V

JJ had won her match. She was now resting on the wall next to Ty. So that meant that Sierra, Matsuri and I had to battle still, right? The stupid board pinged.

_**Darcy vs Erai**_

_Shit._

* * *

I swallowed and proceeded down the stairs. I looked at my opponent as I walked down. She was sneering at me. _So, you think you're all that, huh?_ I missed the final four steps, just to prove that I wasn't some clump- and landed in a splits position of some sort. I heard a small snort of laughter. I bet it was Matsuri, curse her! But now _I_ really wanted to laugh. By the time I had reached my opponent, I had bitten my lip so hard and was clutching my sides so shakily that I looked like a constipated hippo that had swallowed some laxatives and was about to let it all loose. Erai glared at me in annoyance. The proctor said we could begin. She walked in a circle around me.  
"Judging from the past battles with your teammates, you know nothing of this ninja world. And that is all I need to know. To defeat you." She came up close to me, and gave me a hard push. I landed with a small bounce onto my butt.  
"OW! What'd you do that for? Now my butt's gonna have some bruise on it and I wont be able to go swimming. Mean child!" I whined, faking tears. She just laughed at me and snatched me to her by the collar.  
"Listen kid, you need to lose this battle to save your face and I need to win to become something that you could never possibly be- a chunin." So this chick thought that I wasn't worth _shit_, huh? Well, nobody messed with me and my swimming. I rose and glared at her.  
"Who cares about swimming. Are you a whore who takes pleasure in having men and women alike stare at your buttocks?"  
"The only 'buttocks' that will be seen here is yours when it finds itself sticking up in the freaking air!" I snapped, lunging for her. She giggled and dodged. I smirked and landed on my hands and kicked her in the face.  
"I'm not just any_ swimmer_, you stupid ho. I'm a syncro swimmer and a diver. My flexibilty is ridiculously large. If I can't hit you with my hands, I can deffo hit you with my feet!" She came at me, I did a major backflip, flicking her chin at the last second, before grabbing her neck with my ankles, flipping her over with me. She landed with a crack on her back, onto the floor. My feet were still around her neck, but I pushed myself into a bridge position just in time to save my spine. Then I layed down on the floor, panting.  
"Ah!" Something was burning my ankles!  
"Pathetic fool! How dare you believe that you can defeat me, a weakling such as yourself! You and those weakling friends of yours, those cretins you call friend. You are inferior to my power! I will incinerate you!" She cried, heat burning from her face. Rage began to build up inside of me, and tears flowed freely from my eyes.  
"I'm not weak! You don't know anything about how we grew up, how we lived! You're an asshole who obviously made too many judgements in your life! I won't let you prove that you're right! I WON'T!" Light streams began to form around my ankles, a bright indigo colour that stung me slightly, but I kept on crying out, which seemed to increase my lightning. Then, I ran out of tears, and my lightning went,_ poop_. There was a silence that seemed louder than Ty's. Then I realised, it wasn't a silence. It was cheering, but it had been muffled out by my panting. I sat up and looked around. Sierra was clapping, Sari had a sweet smile on her face and Matsuri had a smug knowing look.

I hope she was ready to meet my foot. My head snapped round, when the proctor coughed to catch my attention.

"The winner, once again, is Darcy."


	20. The Final Match: Decided

M-P: Hey people of the world. I know that some of you might be missing the whole Sierra/Gaara P.O.V thing, so I'm bringing it back to Sierra, then we go back to Gaara, OK? Nice =D

* * *

Sierra's P.O.V

I felt a smile burst from my face, when Darcy registered that she had won. I jumped down from the balcony and placed her arm around my neck to support her, before jumping back to the balcony, causing Darcy to shriek with excitement. I gripped my arm and watched with a small smile as the friends hugged each other. They were so happy, just by being with each other. I wish I could be that happy one day, with someone like-  
"No way!" I turned around to see Sari gaping at the board. Matsuri had gone pale. I reached out to catch her as she slumped onto the railings.  
"Matsuri? What is it?" I looked over my shoulder when Darcy tapped my shoulder.  
"Er . . . Sierra? You might wanna look at the board." I did as I was told, and felt my knees buckle.

_Matsuri vs Sierra_

Gaara was going to hate me.


	21. Sierra vs Matsuri

I paled. If Gaara heard about this, he wouldn't forgive me. Not for harming his favoruite student. His first student. I walked down the stairs on trembling legs, and Matsuri stumbled down after me.

I turned to face her. She looked terrified. We both knew that we were going to have to draw weapons on each other- the one thing Matsuri hated. It had been a huge rumour at the Academy that Matsuri had a massive fear of weapons. Gaara had found this unsurprising but he didn't try to teach her how to use weapons, like Temari or Kankuro would have. Instead, he taught her how to use the rope javelin, which wasn't much of a weapon. He made all students promise not to try to inflict harm upon her unless they wished to suffer the consequences. He cared for her because she was his first and most faithful student. I couldn't look her in the eye. I raised my eyes, and- jumped. A shuriken had just grazed my knee. I landed and winced, bending down to rub my knee.  
"Matsuri?! But, but how?" I asked, realising that the shuriken had come from her. She was suddenly glaring at me, a hateful look in her eye. I jumped, when a kunai whizzed past my head.  
"Where were you when Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki?!" I stopped, startled, and cringed when a shuriken enjambed itself into my arm. I made no effort to take it out. I didn't answer.  
"You went after him, didn't you?! You followed him on an A-rank mission, while we, the pathetic little genins, were forced to stay on gaurd duty. Why did you follow, huh? Was it on an impulse? Did you think that you could save him? Guess what, Sierra- he died anyway. You couldn't save him. Naruto and Lady Chiyo did. You were just a dead weight, that got in their way." I jumped up when she said this and gasped when something wrapped itself around my left wrist. She tugged the rope javelin, and caused me to crash down into the ground. She suddenly had a smug smirk on her face.  
"That- that really hurt Matsuri." I whispered, attempting to stand up and failing. Tears darkened the light floor.  
"Shut it! It's the truth and you know it!" She retorted, aiming the kunai that she had attached to her javelin at me. I sniffed and glared at the ground. I felt the air whip past my face as the javelin rushed toward me. Without looking up, I lifted my right hand . . . and didn't flinch when the knife went straight through it.


	22. Sierra vs Matsuri- Part 2

There was a collective gasp. I looked up at her with empty eyes.

How dare she treat me like dirt, after all that I did, to try and help her? I risked my life for her. I tried to save the guy she way clearly crazy about. I refused to harm her with the thing she was afraid of- weapons. Yet here she was, doing the very same thing to me, that had been done to save her face. Here she was accusing me for trying to save the Kazekage. Here she was, using the very thing she was afraid of, to attack me.

* * *

I got to my feet, kunai still inside my palm, and tugged. Matsuri was pulled toward me, then forced back with speed . . . when I punched her in the stomach. She hit the wall and sank to the floor. Coughing blood into her hand, she rose.  
"Matsuri." I called, walking to her with no emotion in my voice, no feeling in my eyes. "I will not harm you with weapons, since it was the Kazekage's wish. But that doesn't mean that I don't have any other attributes to harm you with." She got up, a look of fearful rage in her eye, and rushed me. I jumped and landed behind her, shutting my eyes into a bored expression before lifting my leg behind me and kicking her back. I don't even know how it is, that I aquired such strength within my body, but I do, so I'm going to use it. There was a crack and a wail, before silence. The proctor stuttured.  
"The winner of the Final Match, is, Sierra Maeko!" The cheering temporarily wiped out my hearing. I felt the emotion rush back to my body, I suddenly felt the sting in my right palm, which I gripped. I released a whimper, before also collapsing.


	23. Gaara finds Out

M-P: Let's welcome back . . . GAARA!

* * *

I set foot into the Hokage's office, and knew straight away that all was not right. Tsunade was glaring at some papers, and Shizune was standing behind her, her brow creased in worry. Kankuro let out a small cough, causing both to look up. Tsunade attempted to smile at us.  
"Ah, Lord Kazekage! It's very good to see you!" I looked at her silently.  
"Lady Tsunade," I whispered stoically. "What is the matter?" She let out a startled gasp, before closing her eyes and smiling sheepishly.  
"Well, during the preliminaries, we received the names of all those who made it to the final round. And we got far more names than we expected, even with the preliminaries. A team from the Sand entered the Tower, consisting of Sierra, Sari and Matsuri, entered with another group of girls, named Darcy, JJ and Ty, yet these girls claimed that they belonged to no village. We just got information that another four girls, also with no village to represent, had entered the tower and gotten to the final round. They are called: Misty Kazami, Amber Owen, Ro Kuso and Cathy Taylor. We have no recollection of them partaking in the first stage of the exam, nor the second. Shikamaru doesn't know if we should allow them to participate in the final round, since they didn't partake from the beginning the way everyone else did. Kotetsu said that Sierra had told him that Darcy, JJ and Ty had fallen out of the sky, into the forest of death. Do you, by any chance, know any those girls?" All of us shook our heads. Temari stood forward.  
"If Sierra knows who they are, we will ask her and her teammates when we can find them." Tsunade suddenly looked worried.  
"Both Sierra Maeko and Matsuri were badly injured in their battle against each other." My head snapped up from where it had been overlooking the papers she had handed me.  
"Sierra and Matsuri . . . had to battle one another?" Kankuro asked, the strain in his voice clear. All three of us knew about Matsuri's fear of weapons.  
"Who . . . who came out the winner and how did she win?" Temari asked, choosing her words carefully as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I looked straight forward and said nothing. Shizune wrung her hands nervously. Everybody knew that they weren't allowed to lay a finger on Matsuri, unless they wanted my punishment, which the people of my village knew, were fatal.  
"Sierra won. Kotetsu marvelled that she developed a ridiculous strength that caused Matsuri to crash into a wall at the slightest touch. But Matsuri had harmed Sierra, even going as far as piercing Sierra's right hand with a kunai knife." My mouth fell open slightly.  
"But-" Kankuro whispered.  
"The very same thing had happened to Sierra some time ago, to _protect_ Matsuri." Temari hissed, her voice the same minimal volume as my brother's.  
"Tsunade." I murmured, "Where are they situated?"  
"They are both in the same room at Konoha hospital. You may ask the receptionist which room." Tsunade asked, her face creased with alarm.  
"Thank you." I turned and marched out of the door, my siblings hurrying to match my pace.

It is my regret, but this is going to end in tears.


	24. Gaara's Visit

M-P: I'm going to keep Gaara on P.O.V for a little longer, since Sierra has had so many chapters. ^.^

* * *

I entered the room and paused. Matsuri was sitting up in bed, glaring at the door. She realised it was me and a large smile broke open on her face.  
"Gaara-Sensei! What are you doing here?"  
"I came when I heard you were in hospital. Are you alright?"  
"Yeah, but Sierra fractured my wrist and my coccyx had been badly bruised." I cringed a little at the statement. _Wonderful_. I looked past her to the girl who was lying on the bed with her back to me. Her hair was loose and long, a fair shade that was almost brown, but not quite. It went down to at least her upper waist. Matsuri noticed me looking and patted her roughly on the shoulder. Sierra shrugged her off.  
"So you're awake then?" I inquired softly. She sat up, startled, but refused to turn around.  
"Hello, Lord Kazekage." She said. I looked at her closer. She was trembling, and her voice sounded blotched.  
"Sierra," I murmured, walking over to sit on the edge of her bed. "Why are you crying?" She froze and turned at me, her eyes dilated. I felt my own eyes widen. Her eyes were red and sore looking, as if she'd been rubbing them. Her skin had lost its light tan and was a sickening shade of white. Every breath she inhaled was a shudder. I had a sudden urge to reach out and brush away the bang that was covering her left eye, but I clenched my hands into loose fists and looked at her coldly.  
"I heard that you battled Matsuri." Both girls looked startled. Both nodded.  
"And am I correct when I say that Sierra won?" Again they both nodded.  
"Sierra, did you harm Matsuri?" I could feel my shackles rising, but I kept my features cool. If Sierra had harmed Matsuri with weapons, then there was going to be trouble all round.  
"Yes, she did." Matsuri agreed. I looked at her, silencing her, then back to Sierra. Sierra nodded her agreement. There was a sudden fear in her eye. I glanced down at her right hand and winced mentally. Indeed there was a bandage that need changing on her hand. Taking hold of her wrist as carefully as I was capable of being, I lifted her arm to analyse it.  
"Sierra," I murmured, my eyes narrowing. "How did this happen?" She swallowed and looked at Matsuri, who was suddenly sweating. Neither said a thing.  
"I asked a question, and I would like it to be answered." I made my face impassive.  
"The Hokage told me that you-" I looked Matsuri directly in the eye. "That you used a kunai knife to pierce this hole in Sierra's hand. Did you?" She stammered.  
"Well . . . well . . . um. . . ." She knew as well as anybody that it was impossible to lie to me.  
"Matsuri, was it not a kunai knife that pierced Sierra's _left_ hand, when she saved your very own head?"  
"Well, yes, but she wasn't very helpful when you were kidnapped, by the-" She stopped when I held up my hand.  
"Sierra." I said, keeping my eyes on Matsuri. "What did you do when I was taken by the Akatsuki? Were you on border duty, or did you go with the rescue team? Or, did you follow me on your own impulse when you saw me taken away?"

* * *

Sierra's P.O.V

How did he know?

* * *

Matsuri's P.O.V

How could he have known?

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V

Both females looked purely startled, and stared at me with shock. Sierra gulped.  
"I - I followed on an impulse when I saw you being taken."  
"I see." I shut my eyes slowly.  
"Sierra, do you remember when you saved Matsuri?" She nodded.  
"How did you know that she was in danger?" Matsuri exhaled sharply.  
"I don't know, I guess . . . I just did."  
"And why would you risk having your hand cut off, just to save her face?" She looked me in the eye clearer now.  
"That, was also and impulse, my lord."  
"Hn." I nodded. So both those dangerous situations she had put herself in were on mere _impulse_? I was going to have to watch Sierra carefully during her match. I'd ask Shikamaru to watch her too.  
"Matsuri."  
"Oh, er, yes Gaara-sensei?"  
"When you return to the Sand Village, you will report to my office, and I will issue a punishment for doing what you did to Sierra."  
"But-"  
"Yes, you were trying to get to the final round, but harming a comrade on a personal level, even going as far as to imitate an action that had caused harm to them when protecting you, is unacceptable."  
"But-"  
"End of discussion Matsuri."  
"Yes, Gaara-sensei." She sniffed.  
"Sierra, I will watch yours and Sari's matches. Good luck."  
"Th-thank you, my lord." I nodded, and walked to the door.  
"Get better soon." I walked out, shutting the door behind me.

* * *

I walked down the corridor and sighed.

Just as I had feared, it had ended in tears. Only Matsuri's tears, not Sierra's.


	25. Confronting the Outsiders

M-P: OK, I have to go back to Sierra now, since some of you must be curious as to who these girls with no villages are, k?

* * *

I stopped in the middle of the crowded market street and looked around. The Hidden Leaf Village was a beautiful place. Everyone was at peace with each other. I turned when I saw three figures approaching me.  
"Hey, Sierra!" Darcy called, beating the other two to me for once. I grinned as they berated her for starting first. We began walking.  
"So, Sierra, is this the place you live?" JJ inquired.  
"No, quite the contrary. This is also my first time in this village. This is the Hidden Leaf Village, I think you can see why. I come from the Village Hidden in the Sand. I'm here because I'm taking part in the Chunin exams. It looks like you're going to have to partake in the final round with me." All three groaned. I laughed at their lack of enthusiasm.  
"Sierra!" I looked over my shoulder to see Temari walking over with Shikamaru.  
"Oh, hi. Hello Shikamaru."  
"Sierra, who are these girls with you?" She asked, staring them down bluntly.  
"Oh, these are-"  
"My name is Darcy. These are my best friends Ty and JJ." she stepped out and looked Temari squarely in the eye.  
"Hey." Shikamaru interrupted their staring contest. "We need to know where you're from." Darcy's eyes seemed to jump out before returning to their sockets.  
"Why is that any of your concern?"  
"If we don't know who you are, and we can find no link between the other Hidden Villages, then we might have to take you into custody for the safety of our villagers."  
"Well, we aren't from any villages, or anything like that. We think that we're from a different dimension or some other earth. Where we're from, we come from a place, called New York City." JJ butted in, placing a hand on Darcy's shoulder in an attempt to refrain her. I looked at them, surprised.  
"Is that why you fell from the sky?" They all turned to me, startled.  
"You mean-" Temari began, her eyes narrowing. "To tell me, that those girls actually fell from the sky, into the forest of death?!" I nodded.  
"Then, who are they?" Shikamaru questioned, pointing to a place behind me. We all turned. Standing right behind us were four girls, panting.

* * *

My eyes widened. I took a step back and jumped behind Temair, who was standing in a battle stance. Shikamaru beat her to it, by using some technique to paralyse them. They all gasped, then attempted to stand up straight. They couldn't move. Shikamaru and Temari nodded, before Temari stepped forward.  
"Who are you and what business do you have here?"  
"We, we don't know how we got here, and we don't know how to get back, but we saw, we saw Ty, so we thought they might know where they are.

* * *

Ty's P.O.V

I turned around, my eyes wide. I knew that voice. Running forward, past Darcy and JJ, who had also turned with large eyes, I threw myself into the arms of an older girl, who also had my loose ringlets, and the same eyes.  
"Cathy!" She embraced me back.  
"Ty, what the hell happened to us?"

* * *

Temari's P.O.V

"What's going on?! Who are you, and how did you end up here if you're not from this world or dimension?" I glared at all of them. Shikamaru released them from his Shadow Paralysis. I looked at him from the side.  
"I think they might be innocent, Temari." He stated, walking forward.  
"Fine. State your names." I grumbled. A pretty girl with black hair plaited and twisted into a bun stood forward.  
"My name is Misty Kazami, the girl with orange hair is called Amber Owen."  
"Hi." She waved, eyeing me, with unhidden distaste. Another girl who looked like the girl Ty came forward.  
"My name is Catherine Taylor, but you may call me Cathy, and Ty here is my younger cousin." The last girl with tawny hair plaited into three seperate braids but tied at the starting point of the braids.  
"I'm Ro Kuso." I nodded in what I hoped was a nonchalant manner, like Gaara always did.  
"OK, we don't really know where this New York City place is, so we might have to take you away for questioning." The Cathy girl stood forward. Shikamaru's eyes widened when he really looked her over. She was pretty, _really _pretty, but I can't be bothered to give a description of her.  
"Look," she began. "We don't know how we got here. We were just chilling, and suddenly we were sucked into some portal type thing into this world. We know that we don't know anything about being ninja, but we passed those exam preliminary thing, plus we're gymnasts. We know how to fight, we think we might be able to pass as ninja until we can find a way home. Please, just help us out here." She pleaded. There was a silence. I opened my mouth, but that Nara beat me to it. He had a slight blush on his face as he nodded.  
"OK."


	26. Sierra's Final Match Opponent

M-P: Gaara's turn.

* * *

"Gaara, we should be leaving now." I nodded and rose from my seat. It had been a quick month, Sierra and Matsuri had healed quickly. Temari had been going back and forth in the Village, dealing with the Final Round of the Chunin Exams. She'd also discovered who those mysterious girls were, but she and Shikamaru had decided to allow them to continue participating in the Exam. She had complained about how Nara had accepted their plea without her consent though. This humoured me slightly. Imagine. The lazy genius taking charge. Apparently he had taken full responsibilty over the seven, promising to teach them about the way of the shinobi. Temari believes that it is because of the one named Cathy. She must be special, to put him into action like that. They would prove to be entertaining. And of course, there was Sari, Sierra and two other females from the Sand to look out for. _Sierra._ This Chunin Exam may just prove to be as fatal as the one I partook in was.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, how are you?" I asked, my Kazekage robes adorned, my hat shielding my eye, covering the tattoo on my forehead. She nodded and smiled. But the smile was tight. She wasn't relaxe yet. I could tell because I felt the same way. We discussed the tactics of the shinobi who battled, Tsunade pointing out the outsiders. Misty: a tall female with black hair that was plaited at the back, she was elegant but deadly like lightning. Like Sasuke Amber: another tall girl with bright orange hair that matched her style, fire. Cathy: a tall, meek girl who thought things through, but her actions were light, and harsh, like wind. Then there was Ro: the final girl, who was also tall. Her moves were rushed, but they flowed well, much like her water style. It should probably go without saying that all four won their matches. Sari was one of those who had lost to them. Another Sand genin was also defeated. Sierra won against the Lightning genin. Then it was the final match. Sierra stepped out into the sunlight, covered in scratches and light bruises. Then her opponent stepped out.

I cringed.

She paled.

Her opponent, was none other than . . . her own sister, Jun


	27. Sierra vs Jun

M-P: Would the lovely readers like to see things from Gaara's view for a little longer? *Readers nod eagerly*. OK then, let's stick with him!

* * *

Jun looked slightly fazed until understanding flew onto her face, and her regular condor sneer came back from its holiday. As soon as Shikamaru stated that they could begin, she disappeared, only to appear, right in front of Sierra's face. She tried to kick her chin, but Sierra dodged in time for the kick to go to her shoulder. Sierra began running. She made no attempt to attack Jun, only blocking her attacks. _Even though she's cruel, you can't fight somebody who's had too much of an impact in your life, can you?_ I thought sadly, mentally cringing when Sierra was thrown some feet across the ground, clumps of earth scattering in her wake. Sierra lay panting for a minute, a patch of blood forming on her right thigh. She got up and winced, obviously feeling the effects of the blood loss. Then, she suddenly stopped moving and exhaled slowly. Opening her eyes, I saw that those sapphires had been lit with a new fire. Jun had the advantage , since Sierra hadn't harmed her, but Sierra had now made up her mind to fight back. I let a small smile whisper on my lips before returning to my stoic expression. Sierra had very slim chances of winning at this point, and could pass out any minute. This wasn't turning out very well for her. At all.

* * *

This . . . this is cruelty. Sierra is now covered in large cuts, and they are bleeding harshly._ Blood_. I unconsciously grasped my shoulder, the shoulder where I had been stabbed for the first time. It had mortified me, and I had shrieked like my life was over. Now, looking at Sierra, panting heavily, with a needle and shuriken caught in her shoulder, attempting to breathe, but the movement only causing further pain to her body, I can't help but feel as though it is happening to me again. Shakily, she pulled them out, and stood properly. She eyed her sister warily. She wailed when a kunai knife slit her right cheek open, and threw some more senbon at her, meaning that Sierra had to stay seated to shield her body from the merciless attack. The entire stadium was quiet, as Jun began to roar.  
"You worthless girl! How dare you assume that you actually belonged in my family! You were left as an orphan and my mother was giving the burden of raising you. Then you try to become a ninja, to impress our clan. You, Sierra, are not from the Maeko clan. You are a worthless orphan that nobody wanted! Do you remeber when you were only five years old, and _he _had injured my leg, then brought medicine for me? I rejected him, like mother told me too, whereas you, _you _went outside, picked it up and asked us why we couldn't accept his apology. Do you remember your punishment that night? The sleeping outside in the street on the rough sand? Yeah. That only happened because my mother never really loved you. Yet you have brought shame to our clan, by residing in the home of the Kazekage, the same guy who murdered his own uncle. The same filthy demon, who tried to take both my life and yours, when we were mere children. You, Sierra, are alone in this world!"  
"Jun . . ." Sierra tried to speak, her eyes wet with unshed tears.  
"You are nothing to me!" Jun screamed, kicking her to the floor. Sierra let out a cry, but didn't get up.  
"You mean nothing to the clan!" Jun cried out hatefully, pushing her head against the floor. Sierra made no sound. Her body had gone limp.  
"YOU ARE NOTHING!" Jun barked, kicking Sierra so hard that she flew into the wall, before sliding down to the ground. I could feel a strangled gasp trying to escape my lips, but I halted it, trembling instead. I was almost off my seat, but Kankuro placed a tender hand on my shoulder, stopping me just in time. I heard him swallow, before removing his hand. Shikamaru stood forward, obviously frightened by what had just occurred, and raised his hand. As he did so, a growl came out. It was quiet, but it was there, and it stopped Shikamaru's movements. He looked over to Sierra's body and gasped.  
"N- no way!" He breathed, backing away. I looked over to Sierra and felt my blood run cold. Sierra had stood up, but her head was hanging so I couldn't see her face, her eyes. But a bronze aura seemed to have surrounded the outline of her body, and out of it, came a . . . long, slim monkey shaped tail which wiggled a little when she moved. She lifted her head up, and Temari cried out,  
"No!" Why? You may ask. Simple.

Her eyes were brown.


	28. The Fear Awoken

M-P: Happy New Year! _May 2013 be your year of success and glory, may all you desire come into your possesion! ;D_

* * *

My heart began pumping at an unusual and unsteady pace. Without hesitation, I stood up.  
"Kankuro, Temari!" They nodded.  
"Right!" And jumped to stand behind Sierra, grabbing each of her arms. I paused when I saw Kankuro wince. So, that aura was harmful? I performed a sequence of hand signs and based my right hand, with my left hand grasping my right wrist to concentrate more chakra into my right palm. There were shouts of protests as the earth in the stadium began to tremble.  
"Lady Tsunade." I murmured, keeping my eyes on the ground. She turned to look at me.  
"What is it?"  
"I need you to get as many ninja as possible onto that field with Sierra. Please tell them to press their hands to the ground and focus their chakra on Sierra's feet." She grunted in response, but I heard the regular _whoosh _that meant ninja were moving. I felt my jaw fall open when the field began to fill with shinobi. Shikamaru called out an order, and they obeyed. Soon, there were large circles surrounding my siblings and Sierra, creating a huge rippling pattern. I could see that they were startled when the earth lifted. The outermost circle wasn't that far off the ground, but the circle that Sierra was in was so high that you could probably see it from some distance in the forest surrounding the Leaf. Shutting my eyes, I cried out,  
"Sand Aptitude: Power Deluge!"

* * *

Everybody's hands began glowing with raw chakra. I watched carefully, as lines of chakra began to shoot up through the earth and sand to Sierra's feet. I shut my eyes the instant I heard the screaming. She was being overpowered with chakra, and it was hurting her. Risking a look, I felt my pupils constrict. The shadow of five creatures were illuminated in the sky, above Sierra . . . and the outsiders. A black and bronze monkey, a black and orange hawk, a black and green eagle, a blue and black lynx and a black and purple wolf. Suddenly I couldn't find a regular breathing pattern. _What is this? Why do I feel so afraid? _

_And what did those images mean? _Tsunade's assistant came behind and whispered in a small voice,

"Are these girls, are they . . . beasts?"


	29. Sierra's Own Strength

I was running out of chakra, but it seemed to be working. The strange aura that had begun to surround Sierra, Misty, Amber, Ro and Cathy, was pulsating. The shadows seemed to in pain. Then, as soon as they appeared, the shadows expanded to the point of disappearing. The stadium was in an uncertain, waiting silence. Sierra and the other girls clutched their heads. Then she raised it. I felt a real smile unlock my face.  
"Gaara!" My brother called. He looked startled when he noticed my smile, but he mouthed the words that had made my day.  
"I know." I mouthed back. "Blue."

* * *

Sierra's P.O.V

My head snapped up and I rubbed the back of my head to dull the headache that was raging in my cranium. I looked around, startled, when I saw Temari and Kankuro standing beside me. Looking down, I was even more startled to see a group of shinobi panting up at me on raised circles. My eyes were dilated, I'm sure.  
"You . . . helped me?" They all grinned at me, not seeming to care about the scratches on their faces. I looked up and felt my eyes constrict. _Gaara_. He was standing there, smiling softly. He nodded at me, when he noticed me looking right up at him. I returned the gesture. Glancing down, I saw Jun staring up at me, a look of pure rage on her face. My smile slid off my face, and I eyed her back with a more contained anger. Jumping down, I stood beside Shikamaru, who was facing the Kage stands, while I faced Jun.  
"Shikamaru?" I asked, refusing to remove my eyes from the traitor that I had called my sister. "May I please continue my battle with Jun? What just happened will not occur again, I promise." He gave a surprised nod.

* * *

"Alright. You have both Kage's permission to proceed. BEGIN!"  
"So, are you gonna use that freakish power to win?" Jun sneered, jabbing her ugly little finger in my direction.  
"No, Jun." I hissed, my fury barely contained. "I'm going to win- with my own strength." Her superior sneer dropped when the entire stadium began to cheer.

* * *

She dashed forward and jumped, her leg poised. I blocked her attack with my own leg and ran. Kunai whizzed past me as I ran towards the far side of the stadium. I hopped onto the wall, using a trick Temari had taught me. It was chakra control, and I had unconsciously mastered it when I had fought at the Akatsuki base. Jun was running by me on the ground, while I ran on the wall. She cast a hand sign and suddenly the wall began jutting out. I jumped over them in surprise, my reflexes being the only thing that kept me from getting bruised. It was only when I reached the end of the wall, that I realised my mistake. I released my focus on my feet and landed on the ground, only to scream in protest as my body was mercilessly slashed. Jun suddenly appeared. I began forming random hand signs, trying to remeber the sequence I had used at the Akatsuki base.  
"Heh, so I see you're trying to create a hand sign. You _are_ trying to go back into that form! See? I knew it! You're as much a monster as _he _is! This is why mother never taught you our clans secret jutsu!"  
"Secret . . . Jutsu?" I whispered. I never even knew that the Maeko clan possessed one! She gave me a smile so evil, so full of hatred, that I backed away slightly.  
"Maeko Hidden Jutsu: Imprint of the Confounded!" Something hit me on the stomach, and I was shocked when blood was forced from my mouth. Then something began gripping around inside of me. I fell to the floor and lay quivering, as I vomited blood. Jun walked up to me, the cruel simper on her face so wide that it felt like she was creating a blade to stab me with.  
"Since you obviously don't know what it is, I'll tell you, you pathetic little squirt. The Hidden Jutsu within our clan has two separate parts; one that can only be used by males, and the other which can only be used by females. The female part is fourteen per cent more deadly than the male. What just happened was, I just placed a Hell Imprint on you abdomen. Now, whenever I make this hand sign." She demonstrated, causing me to spurt the red metallic liquid once more. I gasped and clutched my throat. She continued, taking obvious pleaseure in my pain.  
"Whenever I make that handsign, the person I have cursed will have each organ in their body poisoned. When combined with the male Manumission Insignia, the target is certain to die. In fact, both jutsu are powerful enough to kill a whole group of chunin level ninja on their own. This time Sierra, you can't win. In fact, you never could." She smirked, walking away, _again_. I got up, shuddering with each movement. This was real posion, like the one that had been used on Kankuro.  
"So." I called quietly. She stopped and turned around. "You intend to kill me with this poison, don't you?"  
"How are even able to stand and talk?"  
"Answer the damn question, Jun!" She gasped at me. I was a little surprised at myself, too. I never spoke to anyone like that. Taking in shallow breaths, I began to back away to the raised circle tower that was still in the field. Jun instantly saw my foot move and dashed forward to swipe me, I ducked down, landing with a thud on the floor. Jun watched me, her battle stance angry and stiff.  
"You shouldn't have turned your back on me, Jun." I whispered, dashing with a new speed to the tower. She followed me. The poison was slowing me down, and I could hear her catching up to me. I jumped. Bending down until I was in a squatting position with my hands flat on the ground in between my legs, I inhaled deeply, then, I jumped. I couldn't believe my luck when I finally reached the uppermost circle. Looking down on Jun, who was doing a handsign, I let out a scream of pure frustration. Doing some random handsigns, I lifted my right hand into the air.  
"Jun." I called. She stopped and looked up at me, her eyes wide. "You never really accepted me, did you? You hated that I had come in and taken all your attention. You hated having the responsibility of looking after me and the clan's reputation at such a young age." Red glass began forming around my hand, forming some kind of twister in ball form.  
"Well, you know what, Jun? You, nor the clan, have to worry anymore. I know where I'm not wanted. But, I do know that I'm not nothing. And this is why we will never be the same again. Because, unlike you-" I put both my hands underneath the ball to support it. A golden substance was swirling around inside of it. I raised it above my head.  
"Unlike you, Jun. I've proven myself in life with my actions, not my words. You, will never understand what I went to, to become who I am today. Jewel Style: Crimson Ball of Gold!" Her eyes constricted as the sphere made its way to her. It stopped just in front of her face . . . and exploded. Streams of gold flew everywhere, and I used my arm to shield my eyes. When the light faded, I saw Jun lying limp on the ground. Shikamaru came forward and checked her pulse, before signalling for a medic. After Jun had been dispatched, he stood up.  
"The winner of the final match, and the ultimate chunin of the chunin exams, is Sierra!"


	30. Invitation to the Summit

M-P: Since Sierra has won her match, I think we should go back to Gaara. I'm very sorry for not uodating, but I made a promise to a special someone that I would become and ace in maths, since I'm pretty high up in everything else.

* * *

I sighed. Sierra had won her match against Jun, and I knew that another battle had been won. Sierra had been living with us for quite sometime now, and has fitted in perfectly. She demanded that she earn her keep, despite Kankuro's protest that she was our - hopefully - permanent guest. I saw her assiting Lady Kimiko in the kitchen, creating a beautiful breakfast in the kitchen. She was smiling and interacting well with my siblings. When I entered, she glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled. I felt my face begin to feel unfamiliarily warm. Telling my siblings that I would be in the office for the rest of the morning then meet up with them at the Academy in the afternoon earned me nods of assent. Turning on my heel, I was about to make my exit, when a hand placed itself on my shoulder. Looking over said shoulder I saw Sierra standing with a small lunch box in her hand.  
"At least take some breakfast." She pleaded. "What would we do if our Kazekage passed out due to hunger? Not only would it cause a panic, but it would offend me that you wouldn't take my food." My mouth fell open slightly. _That smile_. Saying nothing, I took the box from her outstretched hands, my fingers brushing against her palm. There was a slight tingle in my fingerpads due to the contact. I looked at her. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she kept her smile on. I felt that heat in my cheeks again, so I turned away from her, again and murmured,  
"Th-thank you for this." Before walking out of the doorway.

* * *

Setting my pen down, I glanced outside of the windows. A messenger bird landed on the perch set for birds from foreign places. Shortly afterwards, a member of the office entered my office, panting.  
"Lord Kazekage! There has been a message sent to all the Kage that there is to be a Kage summit in the land of Iron. It is urgent. It begins on the first day of the next month. Please wear some type of thermal protection, as it may be snowing over there. You may have two jounin assist you. That is all." Nodding my dismiss, he exited. I steepled my fingers under my chin. Urgent, huh? Well, this will be my first time interacting with the other Kage.

My thoughts began to drift back to Sierra. She was very powerful girl. And an earth style user. Maybe I could tutor her, and find out more about that beastly power she possess. Maybe I could find out if it is deadly and save her before I, we, my family, lose. her


	31. The Five Kage Summit

"Kankuro, hurry up! We'll be the last ones there at this rate." Temari called over her shoulder, placing her hand on her hip impatiently.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming already." He grumbled, placing his scroll holders onto his back. I hid my smile. Of course, I would chose my siblings to go with me. Other than Naruto, they were the only ones I trusted. I looked back over my shoulder at the people of the village who were bidding us a safe farewell. Sierra, Matsuri, Sari and their new friend Yukata were all standing at the front.  
"Bye, Gaara-sensei! Have a safe trip!" Matsuri, Sari and Yukata called, waving madly. I smiled at their over enthusiasm. They started screaming, quite happily for some reason. I looked over to Sierra. She was looking at me thoughtfully.  
"Sierra, will you be alright by yourself?" I asked, cocking my head to one side. She looked into my eyes, surprised, and smiled _that_ smile again. She knew that I wasn't just referring to staying alone with Lady Kimiko, but also the people of the Maeko clan, who were just about everywhere. They were furious with her for beating Jun, the next inheritor of the clan, at being a chunin. She allowed herself a reluctant nod, then gasped when she was embraced tightly by my older sister. I gaped at her, then turned to my brother, who was looking at her in the same way, before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. We weren't the only ones surprised. The entire crowd was staring at Temari open mouthed. She released Sierra from the embrace, but did not let go of her shoulders, but instead inspected her slowly.  
"Are you four going to go the Leaf now? Will you be alright with an additonal person?" Sierra nodded her quick assent. Temari smiled and walked back over to us.  
"Sierra!" She called as we bagan walking away. "Take care of yourself, and your comrades, OK?"  
"I will, Temari. I promise!" She yelled back, her voice notably happier. I felt my own mood lift at the happiness my sister left in Sierra.

* * *

We arrived at the meeting point and my siblings took their places on the viewing balconies, eyeing the other Kage gaurd warily. I was then surprised to see another man representing the Leaf Village. I had heard about Tsunade being in a coma, due to the battle that took place between the leader of the Akatsuki and Naruto. I appraised him coldly. I didn't like the way he stood. There was something shifty about him, but I cleared my mind and sat in my seat, resting my chin on my steepled fingers as I waited for the Summit to begin.

* * *

Honestly, it was uninteresting, save for when the Raikage broke the desk he was at, causing all our gaurds to jump into action. To be honest, I felt strange telling my older siblings to go and sit down, but . . . you know. We were currently debating what should be done about the Akatsuki and I complained about how the response to the actions they've taken wasn't good enough. The Tsuchikage also called me the, er, 'golden egg' of the Five Kage, since I was, by far, the youngest one there. I was probably the only Kage under the age of thirty in the room. In fact, I was probably the only person there who was under eighteen. It was after the meeting was over, that he came.

Sasuke.

He came for the Hokage, the Raikage attacked him, and I had to save him. I tried to persuade him to go back on his ways, for the sake of Naruto, but he rejected my plea. I allowed one single tear to leak from my face before attacking him as well.

When Sasuke eventually left, at the cost of the Raikage's left arm, we stood in the conference room wondering about the battles that we had had, when the one the call Madara appeared and told us about his Eye of the Moon plan, which meant that he would destroy the world and create a new idealistic one. This meant that he would need the jinchuriki. I blanched at his statement. He already has seven of the ten, so he wagered war on us, the Five Kage, before using some dojutsu to disappear, along with Sasuke, who was unconscious on his shoulder. It has been decided that the Raikage will take that role, since none of the members of the Akatsuki came from his village. With that, my siblings and I dispersed, using out feet to help us get through the snow.

_So, we're officially at war now, huh? Just great._


	32. The Proposal

M-P: So, who would like to hear from Sierra?

* * *

I waited for my teammates to catch up to me as I ran towards an area where a group of teenagers, were chatting. The Leaf village was now a giant hole. Matsuri, Sari, Yukata and I had come to lend a hand in repairing the Village, as proof of the alliance between the Village Hidden in the Sand and the Village Hidden in the Leaf. I came to a stop and ducked to avoid hitting somebody in the back, but losing my balance whilst doing so and having to do a little cartwheels to regain control. It was then that I noticed the teenagers had stopped talking and were staring at me with open mouths. I flushed, partially from the exertion and mostly from the stares.  
"No way." Kiba breathed, his dog nin whining quietly behind him. I let out a little yelp as I was grabbed from behind and lifted into a hug.  
"The hell?" I shrieked, my fear eminent, and I kicked about in an attempt to get free.  
"Aw come on, at least give me a hug. I thought we were friends, ya know!" The strained male voice replied, releasing me. I turned to see that it was Naruto. I felt an idiotic grin open my face and I embraced him back.  
"Naruto!" I squealed. He laughed. I let go of him and looked back at everyone else.  
"Guys, it's an honour to see you again. You must remember Matsuri and Sari- right Kiba?" I smiled shyly at him, and his uneasy expression made way to his normal, cocky but nice face. Matsuri huffed, then smiled and Sari waved.  
"And this," I said, pulling Yukata forward, "is Yukata. She's come to help us help you." I introduced her to everyone, and she hid her blush when Lee gave her his, er, nice guy pose. Then seven people approached us. I turned, and stared. In standard Leaf shinobi uniform, with little swords strapped to their backs, stood Ty, Darcy, JJ, Misty, Amber, Cathy and Ro. My eyes constricted, and I, along with my fellow sand ninja, gaped at them.  
"Yo, Sierra! Miss us?" Ro called, her hair bouncing as she ran to me, at an amazing speed, before crushing me into an equally powerful hug, the rest following suit. When they released me, I looked over at Shikamaru, who was approaching with Choji.  
"So, I'm guessing Shikamaru over there taught you guys everything you know?"  
"Did he? God, he's awesome!" Cathy gushed, before stuttering when she realised what she said. I smiled at her blush. We sat discussing what areas we believed that we would be assisting in. I smiled distractedly and looked up as the petals of a pink flower floated around me. I'm not sure why, but my thoughts were suddenly directed onto Gaara._ I wonder how he's doing at the Summit. I hope the cold isn't affecting him too much_. I jumped when I felt a shoulder on my hand. I was face to face with Ro. She grinned.  
"See those flower petals? We call them Middlemist Camellias. We personally think that these are the real flowers of love, 'cuz they're so rare. And in our world, love is a rare thing. Not like roses, which you can get almost anywhere."  
"The . . . real flower of love?" I whispered, my heart speeding up. She nodded again. We both turned when our names were called out. We were assigned to watching over food supplies with Ino and Sakura.

* * *

I sat down alone on the grassy hillside and looked over the horizon, at the gold and fuchsia sky. _Middlemist camellia. Why does that make me think of Gaara?_  
"Sierra?" A soft voice murmured. I looked wearily over my shoulder. It was Misty, Amber, Cathy and Ro.  
"Sierra." Amber stood forward, a look of pure determination on her face. "We have a proposition for you."  
"Sierra," Cathy began quietly. "We'd like for you to join our team."


	33. Mistresses of the Claw- Formed!

I gaped at them.  
"Me? Why?"  
"We think that, after what happened at the Chunin exams, where some animal shapes appeared above each of us, including you, that we may be able to firstly figure out what they are, plus, you're really nice and we think that it would be cool to be in team with you." My heart began to pump at a different pace.  
"But, I reside in a separate village to you. How would that work out?"  
"Well, ya here now, aint you? You're going to be here until it's decided between the five Kage what's gonna happen, right?" Amber demanded, placing her hand on her hip in the similar fashion to someone I knew quite well. What would she tell me in this moment? _You have a special power that not many have. You might even possess a kekkai genkai or two. Embrace your power, and use it to help mend this twisted life that we shinobi live. _I smiled up at them, and nodded. Their anxious eyes eased and they cheered. I thought for a moment.  
"Don't you think we should have a team name?" Ro and I questioned simultaneously. We giggled at each other.  
"We should probably have a name that puts out that we have beastly power within us and that are very powerful." Cathy murmured.  
"Ace Beasts?"  
"Beast Acers?"  
"Lady Like Beasts?"  
"Ace Masters?"  
"Beast Masters?"  
"Beast Mistresses?" _Mistress? _I snapped my fingers as a light come on in my head.  
"What about . . . Mistresses of the Claw? Because all of us have claws of some kind, and the birds have talons, which are like claws, so . . ."  
"Sierra, you're amazing!" All four of them exclaimed, grabbing me and suffocating me in a group hug.  
"OK, Mistresses, let's plan out how to make ourselves awesome. We should train ourselves in our spare time, so that we can figure out how to activate these animals within us, and how to exercise the power that they bring us." Cathy stated.  
"Plus, we should try to figure out how to small and large amounts of it so that we don't stress out our power. And we should als try to create two ultimate attacks- one that can be done individually and one that we can all do together." Misty interjected.  
"But we mustn't tell anyone. Especially not Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba or the Kazekage." Amber said, raising her eyebrow and looking at Cathy, Misty, Ro and me in turn. I felt a blush creep to my cheeks.  
"It's not like I could tell him . . ." I muttered, my blush getting more heated as an image of me and Gaara sitting on that loveseat, talking about personal stuff slid into my mind. I gasped quietly and shook my head. Ro and Cathy were looking at me anxiously.  
"Si-Si, are you OK?" Ro asked gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her incredulously.  
"Si-Si?! What kinda nickname is that?" Amber demanded, giving Ro a glare so great that it looked like she could set something on fire.  
"Well," Ro began defensively, "We all have nicknames. You're Amby, Misty is Mists and Catherine is Cathy."  
"What about you Ro?" I asked. She laughed.  
"That's just it! My full name is Ronaele, but everyone calls me Ro, just cuz it's easier!" I giggled.  
"So, we should always try to meet up in the training hall around five, we should all have finished our jobs by then, unless we've been posted on night watch, but we are only chunin so it isn't likely. Is that cool?" Misty said, getting to her feet. We all nodded our agreement.  
"The Mistresses, are now in business!" Ro yelled, as we began to run back to our residing tents. _Yes, we are, and we _will_ find a way to fix this shinobi life, and make everyone smile. I _swear_ on my power, that I _will_ make Gaara smile!_


	34. Sierra Called Back

M-P: Gaara now

* * *

I looked up from the papers in front of me and nodded. The agreement had been made. The Allied Shinobi Forces had been formed. We were all to prepare for war. My mind was drawn back to Sierra. She still needed to learn to control that power that she possessed, not to mention the fact that she needed to learn some other jutsu to aid herself in war. Her speed and flexibility wasn't enough to protect herself. A member of the ANBU appeared before me.  
"You called, Lord Kazekage?"  
"Yes. I need you to go to the Leaf Village, and call Sierra back here." He gasped and raised his head in surprise.  
"I know she was sent to the Hidden Leaf to assist, but I want to teach her some things before the war begins. She possess a large amount of power that could put her in danger if she doesn't learn to control it. That is why I will personally train her . . . to protect her." He nodded and disappeared. I held in a sigh and glanced out of my window. I would protect this village with my life, and as Second in Command of the Allied Shinobi Forces, I would protect the other shinobi too. But to do that, I needed Sierra to learn to gain control of herself. Those outsiders also needed some training, but they are not my responsibility. I stood from my seat. Today, Matsuri, Yukata and Sari were really going to learn how to fight . . . and I'd be damned if they were to get hurt first.

* * *

Sierra's P.O.V

"Sierra, the Kazekage has requested you return temporarily to the Sand Village." I looked at the ANBU member in astonishment. Gaara . . . wanted me to come back? I nodded slowly. I should've been on my way to the training hall, but if he wanted me back so bad that he would send an ANBU, then I have to go. No questions asked. The ANBU disappeared. I ran to the place we were staying at, grabbed my ninja pouch, a small bag of food and set out. At the speed I would be moving at, I wouldn't need much food. I called out that I would be back soon to Kotetsu and Izumo as I left the main gate. Jumping into the trees, I began my, possibly, short journey back to the Village Hidden in the Sand.


	35. Sierra Returns- Intense Training Begins

M-P: Gaara

* * *

I stood at the top of the Kazekage the day after I requested Sierra to return, and looked out over my village. It was then that I noticed that a trail of dust was kicking up in the desert. I blinked. A couple of Sand Jounin stood on the roofs of various houses.  
"Lord Kazekage, something is approaching!"  
"Wait. I don't sense a negative presence. Don't let your guard down." They nodded and scattered. I used my Sand Flicker Technique to move to the gates. When I reached said gate, my siblings were already there. I glanced at the raging path of sand that was making it way toward the village. I stood in a more stationary position and looked out at it, emotionless It came closer, and closer still, till it stopped. As the sand dispersed I made note of the fair hair, the large blue eyes and the Sand Symbol on her flak jacket. Sierra. I blinked again, my eyes obviously giving away my shock. I had sent for her yesterday, yet she had made a three-day journey within the space of less than twenty-four hours? Her speed was something to be proud of, and would be a great assistance to her, I knew.  
"Sierra, welcome home. You came quick." My older brother smirked, glancing at her appreciatively. I tried to remain neutral, but something within the darker depths of my soul growled lowly. The realisation that I did not like people close to me speculating Sierra told me something about my relationship with her. The problem was, I didn't want to heed the words that had risen from that dark place within me. I _couldn't_. I refuse to allow my emotions to hinder me so close to war.  
"Sierra," I murmured. She and my siblings turned to look at me expectantly, Kankuro losing his smirk when he saw my expression.  
"We are now officially at war with the Akatsuki." She gasped and looked down sadly.  
"This means that all shinobi must train. You especially, since you seem to possess a power unheard of. If the Akatsuki catch wind that you have this power, and try to claim it, I think you would at least like to give them a good fight for it." She nodded quickly at this statement, then began to eye me and my siblings warily, lifting one of her feet and placing it half a step behind her body. Temari smirked and Kankuro grinned.  
"Sierra, if you would let us, we're going to train you to a jounin level. If you can master that power, you could fight numerous members of the Akatsuki at once." Her eyes widened, then constricted, before lighting up with a new determination. She nodded, and grinned at me. I even allowed my mouth to slide upwards slightly in response. This may just prove to be fun.

* * *

"Let's begin. First, I am going to teach you some earth style techniques, then when you can use those well, we'll try to harness the power you exhibited at the Chunin Exams." She nodded. We stood face to face in the training field behind my home. I told her the hand signs to perform, and she did them, before placing her palms on the ground. She shrieked when the earth around her began to lift, a pillar shooting her into the sky. The lack of concentration caused her to flail, so she fell. I caught her with my sand and we began again.

* * *

It's been around three days and so far Sierra has mastered the four earth style techniques I have taught her, but the final ones, Earth-Style: Bedrock Coffin, Earth-Style: Earth Spear and Earth-Style: Tearing Earth Turning Palm, caused her to lose her mental control and she began to transform. Into a monkey, no less. I have had to suffocate her to the point of death to snap her out of it. Each time she would apologise, each time, I would look away from her eyes and tell her that she needs to get a hold of herself.

The next morning, when she came for training, she asked,  
"Can we talk?"


	36. The Talk On the Roof

M-P: I want to stick with Gaara, for one more chapter.

* * *

We walked to the top of the Kazekage tower and looked over the village. She didn't look at me, only at a group of young children playing a game with some twigs.  
"Gaara, have you ever wondered how life would've turned out, if you had been loved from the beginning? Instead of lied to, secretly tormented, knowing all along that you didn't belong, but trying to forget that, because you wanted to be acknowledged?" I gasped and looked at her face. She bowed her head so that her eyes were hidden.  
"Yes. In the early stages of my childhood, I was neglected and wounded emotionally because of the monster my father had implanted within me. But I met Naruto." She gasped and looked up at me. It was my turn to stare at the children.  
"He banged my head with his own, and told me that it was love that made him stronger. All I wanted at first, was to be like those children. But that wasn't to be my fate."  
"That wasn't your fault. You were merged with that monster before you even entered this world. You were punished for a crime that was committed by another." She whispered. I gazed at her impassively. She froze and lifted her head slowly, turning so that her gaze met mine. Her eyes were wide.  
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Pl - please forgive me." She whispered. I said nothing. She continued to look at me, her look full or remorse. A dry wind blew around us, ruffling her peach-orange hair. A bang fell over her face. I didn't resist. I reached out to brush it away, and froze. She was looking up at me, her face frigid with shock, her mouth forming a small, surprised 'o'. I slowly rested my hand on the railing beside me, looking back down at the children who were now just sitting on doorsteps talking to each other and shouting at each other across the street.  
"Sierra, can you guess the reason I called you back from the Leaf Village, apart from the war?"  
"Is is- is it something to do with the Akatsuki specifically, like you said so earlier?" She whispered. I nodded, still watching the children. One of them was arguing with another boy who had just appeared.  
"I want you to let me know everything you can about the Akatsuki. Any information that we can get to defeat them would be a major help to us." I stopped speaking when I saw her eyes waver. She was hesitant to tell me.  
"Sierra, what is it?"  
"I don't think it will be useful, but they took care of me. Two of them. In fact, they were the ones who had . . . kidnapped you." The last part was so quiet that I only just managed to hear it, but only because the village had suddenly hushed. Without looking at her, I raised my hand and slowly drew my fingers together. A cry of protest was released from below.  
"That new child who was arguing with the other children just now, was actually an intruder in disguise." She gasped, leaning over the railing to look. I felt a sort of wind blow behind me. I didn't have to look to know that she had jumped over the railing. A few seconds later, and there was total silence on the street. I peered over the railing and felt a smile tug at my lips. The culprit was lying on the ground, back in his true form. I finally figured out how to tap out Sierra's real power.

But I was going to need the help of one of those outsiders.


End file.
